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

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

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of AMETEK from $166.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of AMETEK from $219.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen cut AMETEK from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AMETEK has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.50.

AMETEK Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AME traded down $0.42 during trading on Thursday, hitting $178.27. 645,451 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 822,230. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market cap of $41.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.06, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $187.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.65. AMETEK has a 1-year low of $149.03 and a 1-year high of $198.33.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider David F. Hermance sold 6,243 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.99, for a total transaction of $1,192,350.57. Following the sale, the insider now owns 36,731 shares in the company, valued at $7,015,253.69. This represents a 14.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were 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. This represents a 18.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,200 shares of company stock valued at $5,707,620 in the last three months. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AMETEK

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in AMETEK by 3,116.7% in the 4th 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. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AMETEK during the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 366.1% during the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 261 shares of the technology company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of AMETEK by 226.1% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 300 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is currently 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.