AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as low as $145.02 and last traded at $153.24, with a volume of 2616554 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $152.66.
Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on AME. Bank of America upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. BNP Paribas raised AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on AMETEK from $216.00 to $196.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AMETEK currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $201.78.
Read Our Latest Analysis on AME
Insider Buying and Selling
In other AMETEK news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total value of $125,414.40. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,865,318.40. This represents a 6.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AME. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in AMETEK by 3.5% during the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 8,656 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,490,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in AMETEK by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 78,625 shares of the technology company's stock worth $13,534,000 after purchasing an additional 682 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its position in AMETEK by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in AMETEK by 26.5% in the first quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,806 shares of the technology company's stock worth $686,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Unigestion Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 89.5% in the first quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 10,000 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,721,000 after buying an additional 4,724 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
AMETEK Stock Up 0.8 %
The company has a market cap 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. The company's 50-day moving average is $176.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.75.
AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.02. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.94% and a net margin of 19.83%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
AMETEK Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.91%.
AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to buy up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
About AMETEK
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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