AMETEK (NYSE:AME) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMETEK (NYSE:AME) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on AME. Mizuho increased their target price on AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp boosted their target price on AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of AMETEK from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of AMETEK to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of AMETEK from $166.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AMETEK has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.29.

AMETEK Stock Performance

AME opened at $191.51 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.39. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $180.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.30 billion, a PE ratio of 33.36, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.15. AMETEK has a 52-week low of $149.03 and a 52-week high of $198.33.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The technology company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.04. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 19.27%. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AMETEK will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Tony J. Ciampitti sold 16,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $197.01, for a total value of $3,193,532.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,750,024.90. The trade was a 24.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,460 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.59, for a total transaction of $250,521.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 23,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,006,454.91. The trade was a 5.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,660 shares of company stock worth $5,958,141 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AMETEK

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in AMETEK by 62.6% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in shares of AMETEK during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AMETEK during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AMETEK in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in AMETEK by 366.1% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 261 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

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.