Truist Financial Issues Pessimistic Forecast for AMETEK (NYSE:AME) Stock Price

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) had its price target lowered by stock analysts at Truist Financial from $216.00 to $196.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the technology company’s stock. Truist Financial’s price target indicates a potential upside of 21.66% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on AME. BNP Paribas raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. 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 report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com raised AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.78.

AMETEK Stock Performance

Shares of AME opened at $161.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $177.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.27. 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 has a 1 year low of $145.02 and a 1 year high of $198.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.18 billion, a PE ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.02. AMETEK had a net margin of 19.83% and a return on equity of 16.94%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that AMETEK will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at AMETEK

In related news, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the business’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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $250,021.20. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,172,512.89. The trade was a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AMETEK

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of AME. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 310.1% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 5,877 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 4,444 shares in the last quarter. NBC Securities Inc. lifted its position in AMETEK by 101,500.0% in the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,016 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares during the period. Czech National Bank lifted its position in AMETEK by 5.9% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 53,127 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $9,145,000 after purchasing an additional 2,974 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in AMETEK by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 457,301 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $78,720,000 after purchasing an additional 13,213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in AMETEK by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,218 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.