AMETEK (NYSE:AME) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

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

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on AME. 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. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BNP Paribas raised shares of 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. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of 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 report on Monday, December 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $198.60.

AMETEK Stock Performance

AME traded down $1.06 on Friday, hitting $159.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 29,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,413,562. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $175.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.94. 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 12 month low of $145.02 and a 12 month high of $198.33. The firm has a market cap of $36.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.14.

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AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.68 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that AMETEK will post 7.15 EPS for the current year.

AMETEK announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 7th that allows the company to buyback $1.25 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the technology company to purchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at AMETEK

In related news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,320 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.41, for a total value of $250,021.20. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 22,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,172,512.89. This represents a 5.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Thomas A. Amato sold 710 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,865,318.40. The trade was a 6.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AMETEK

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AME. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,450 shares of the technology company's stock worth $261,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AMETEK by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 14,277 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,574,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of AMETEK by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $604,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $42,000 after buying an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in AMETEK by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 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.