AMETEK (NYSE:AME) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on AME. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. BNP Paribas raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.67.

AMETEK Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AME opened at $184.12 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $42.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $183.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.93. AMETEK has a 12 month low of $149.03 and a 12 month high of $198.33.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.02. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.68 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that AMETEK will post 7.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.25 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to purchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at AMETEK

In other AMETEK news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $250,021.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at $4,172,512.89. This trade represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AME. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its holdings in AMETEK by 62.6% during the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of AMETEK by 3,116.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in shares of AMETEK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in AMETEK by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About AMETEK

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.