AMETEK (NYSE:AME) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

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

AME has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America raised 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 report on Monday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AMETEK currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.67.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of AME traded down $5.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $170.25. 1,101,493 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,226,605. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. AMETEK has a fifty-two week low of $149.03 and a fifty-two week high of $198.33. The company has a market cap of $39.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14. The firm's fifty day moving average is $182.60 and its 200 day moving average is $180.92.

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

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, February 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.25 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to buy up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at AMETEK

In other AMETEK news, 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 transaction of $250,021.20. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $176.64, for a total transaction of $125,414.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. This trade 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 company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AMETEK

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 72.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,680,309 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $288,526,000 after acquiring an additional 703,501 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in AMETEK by 276.9% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,990 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB raised its holdings in AMETEK by 3.9% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 70,517 shares of the technology company's stock worth $12,108,000 after buying an additional 2,659 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of AMETEK during the third quarter valued at about $422,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 23.6% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,668 shares of the technology company's stock worth $286,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.