Brokerages Set AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) PT at $204.67

Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $204.67.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th.

AMETEK Stock Down 1.4 %

AME stock opened at $186.11 on Thursday. AMETEK has a one year low of $149.03 and a one year high of $198.33. The firm has a market cap of $43.05 billion, a PE ratio of 31.38, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $182.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.06. 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AMETEK will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to repurchase $1.25 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the technology company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from AMETEK’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.89%.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In related news, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.90, for a total transaction of $1,321,737.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,967,114. The trade was a 18.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AMETEK

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AME. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased 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 worth $34,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in AMETEK by 3,116.7% in the fourth 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. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in AMETEK during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% in the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

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.