AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $203.44.

AME has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on AMETEK from $166.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. TD Cowen cut AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th.

Insider Activity at AMETEK

In related news, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Tony J. Ciampitti sold 16,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.01, for a total value of $3,193,532.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,750,024.90. The trade was a 24.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,200 shares of company stock valued at $5,707,620 over the last three months. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AMETEK

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in AMETEK by 62.6% in the third quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 3,116.7% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in AMETEK by 1,176.5% during the 4th quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in AMETEK by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AMETEK in the third quarter valued at about $44,000. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of AME opened at $185.98 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $185.87 and its 200-day moving average is $176.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.02 billion, a PE ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.16. AMETEK has a fifty-two week low of $149.03 and a fifty-two week high of $198.33.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The technology company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.62 by $0.04. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 16.88%. The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.64 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that AMETEK will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 19.51%.

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.