StockNews.com Upgrades AMETEK (NYSE:AME) to Buy

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

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Truist Financial raised their price target on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Mizuho raised their price target on AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upgraded AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.67.

AMETEK Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of AMETEK stock opened at $186.11 on Friday. AMETEK has a fifty-two week low of $149.03 and a fifty-two week high of $198.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $182.95 and a 200 day moving average of $178.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.38, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 1.24.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that AMETEK will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

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 purchase 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 at AMETEK

In other AMETEK news, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.90, for a total value of $1,321,737.30. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 30,460 shares in the company, valued at $5,967,114. This trade represents a 18.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of AMETEK

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AME. Creative Planning raised its stake in AMETEK by 6.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 25,434 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,367,000 after buying an additional 1,488 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the third quarter worth about $101,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 27.7% during the third quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 1,711 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the third quarter worth about $57,200,000. Finally, E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 3.1% during the third quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 9,900 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,700,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently 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.