AMETEK (NYSE:AME) Downgraded to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

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

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on AME. BNP Paribas raised shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AMETEK presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.78.

AMETEK Stock Performance

Shares of AME opened at $158.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. AMETEK has a 52 week low of $145.02 and a 52 week high of $198.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $176.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.09. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. AMETEK’s quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that AMETEK will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.25 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In other news, 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 value of $125,414.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares in the company, valued at $1,865,318.40. The trade was a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the business’s 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 in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AMETEK

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in AMETEK by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,450 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,277 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,574,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $604,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in AMETEK by 42.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in AMETEK by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.43% of the company’s stock.

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.