AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation, six have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $197.89.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of AMETEK in a research note on Monday, April 14th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on AMETEK from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, 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.

AMETEK Stock Down 0.7%

AME traded down $1.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $178.86. 2,078,721 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,289,688. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.24. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $168.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.35. The stock 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 has a twelve month low of $145.02 and a twelve month high of $198.33.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.74 billion. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The business's revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. Equities analysts expect that AMETEK will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. AMETEK's payout ratio is currently 20.29%.

AMETEK announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total transaction of $250,021.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director now owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. This trade represents a 6.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AMETEK

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bares Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in AMETEK during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the first quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in AMETEK by 57.7% during the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 194 shares of the technology company's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 42.9% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.