Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Position in AMETEK, Inc. $AME

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,043,029 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 94,645 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.88% of AMETEK worth $384,096,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Darwin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in AMETEK in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its position in AMETEK by 129.7% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 170 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AMETEK in the third quarter worth $31,000. SouthState Corp lifted its position in shares of AMETEK by 47.4% in the second quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 202 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the second quarter valued at $39,000. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on AME. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of AMETEK from $212.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of AMETEK from $198.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. DA Davidson boosted their price target on AMETEK from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on AMETEK from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AMETEK presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $229.82.

AMETEK Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE AME opened at $224.04 on Friday. AMETEK, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.02 and a 52 week high of $227.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The stock has a market cap of $51.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.34, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $207.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.01.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The technology company reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.13. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.66% and a net margin of 20.50%.The firm had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. AMETEK’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. AMETEK’s payout ratio is currently 19.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AMETEK

In other AMETEK news, VP Thomas M. Montgomery sold 6,388 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.05, for a total value of $1,309,859.40. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 22,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,534,885.80. This trade represents a 22.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David A. Zapico sold 28,390 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.76, for a total value of $5,727,966.40. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 137,088 shares of company stock worth $27,212,340 over the last quarter. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AMETEK Company Profile

AMETEK, Inc is a global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electromechanical devices that serves a broad range of industries. Headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, the company designs and produces precision instruments, electronic measurement devices, specialty sensors, and electric motors and motion control systems. Its product portfolio includes analytical and monitoring instruments, calibration equipment, power supplies, embedded electronics, and industrial motors and drives used for critical applications.

The company operates through two primary business platforms — an electronic instruments group focused on analytical, test and measurement and sensor products, and an electromechanical group that supplies motors, actuators, and related power and motion solutions.