AMETEK (NYSE:AME) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of AMETEK (NYSE:AME) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AMETEK currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.67.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AME opened at $170.25 on Wednesday. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $182.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.80. The company has a market cap of $39.28 billion, a PE ratio of 28.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. AMETEK has a twelve month low of $149.03 and a twelve month high of $198.33.

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

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.91%.

AMETEK announced that its board has authorized a share 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 repurchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In other news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $250,021.20. Following the transaction, the director now owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This trade represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in AMETEK by 3,116.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its stake in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of AMETEK by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

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.