AMETEK (NYSE:AME) Raised to "Buy" at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on AME. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $196.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on AMETEK in a research report on Monday, April 14th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $170.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of AMETEK from $197.00 to $190.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of AMETEK from $194.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $196.90.

AMETEK Stock Performance

AME stock traded up $2.60 during trading on Monday, reaching $182.81. The stock had a trading volume of 1,167,528 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,295,646. The stock's 50 day moving average is $168.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.74. AMETEK has a 52 week low of $145.02 and a 52 week high of $198.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $42.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.83, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.12.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The technology company reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business 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. AMETEK's revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AMETEK will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

The business 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. AMETEK's payout ratio is 20.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total transaction of $125,414.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,865,318.40. The trade was a 6.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AMETEK

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AME. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in AMETEK by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 7,125 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,226,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in AMETEK by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 6,260 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,078,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of AMETEK by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,450 shares of the technology company's stock worth $261,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. EWA LLC boosted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 4.9% in the first quarter. EWA LLC now owns 1,382 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Buckhead Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Buckhead Capital Management LLC now owns 22,830 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,930,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.