B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Trims Holdings in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. cut its stake in AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) by 37.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,127 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 662 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AMETEK were worth $203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new position in shares of AMETEK in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of AMETEK in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in AMETEK during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Quent Capital LLC grew its position in AMETEK by 60.9% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 251 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC grew its position in AMETEK by 15,950.0% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 321 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. The trade was a 6.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

AMETEK Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of AME stock opened at $178.86 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $168.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $179.25. AMETEK, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.02 and a 12-month high of $198.33. The firm has a market cap of $41.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.06. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.64 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on AME shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Mizuho set a $212.00 target price on AMETEK in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on AMETEK in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $170.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on AMETEK from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AMETEK currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $197.89.

AMETEK Company Profile

AMETEK, Inc manufactures and sells electronic instruments and electromechanical devices in the North America, Europe, Asia, and South America, and internationally. The company's EIG segment offers advanced instruments for the process, aerospace, power, and industrial markets; process and analytical instruments for the oil and gas, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, semiconductor, automation, and food and beverage industries; instruments to the laboratory equipment, ultra-precision manufacturing, medical, and test and measurement markets; power quality monitoring and c devices, uninterruptible power supplies, programmable power and electromagnetic compatibility test equipment, and sensors for gas turbines and dashboard instruments; heavy trucks, instrumentation, and controls for the food and beverage industries; and aircraft and engine sensors, power supplies, embedded computing, monitoring, fuel and fluid measurement, and data acquisition systems for aerospace and defense industry.