AMETEK (NYSE:AME) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on AME. KeyCorp increased their target price on AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. BNP Paribas raised AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial increased their target price on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho increased their target price on AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Bank of America raised AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AMETEK has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $204.67.

AMETEK Price Performance

NYSE AME traded down $1.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $183.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,041,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,456,313. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.16. AMETEK has a 1-year low of $149.03 and a 1-year high of $198.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company's 50-day moving average is $183.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.27.

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

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction of $1,321,737.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Tony J. Ciampitti sold 16,210 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 49,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,750,024.90. This trade represents a 24.67 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AMETEK

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 3,116.7% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 193 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of 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. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in AMETEK during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. 87.43% of the stock is 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.