AMETEK (NYSE:AME) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $168.91, but opened at $179.62. AMETEK shares last traded at $181.23, with a volume of 248,832 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AME has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wolfe Research upgraded AMETEK to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on AMETEK from $216.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on AMETEK from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on AMETEK from $171.00 to $166.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded AMETEK from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.29.

AMETEK Trading Up 8.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $42.45 billion, a PE ratio of 32.23, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $168.95 and a 200 day moving average of $169.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.26.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The technology company reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.78 billion. AMETEK had a return on equity of 17.41% and a net margin of 19.51%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.57 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th were issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.68%.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In other news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,460 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.59, for a total transaction of $250,521.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,006,454.91. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AMETEK

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AME. Washington Trust Advisors Inc. bought a new position in AMETEK in the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in AMETEK in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in AMETEK in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in AMETEK in the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new position in AMETEK in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 87.43% of the company's stock.

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.