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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of AMETEK from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on AMETEK from $200.00 to $197.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $204.67.

AMETEK Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of AME traded down $2.67 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $186.11. 1,202,695 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,323,194. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. AMETEK has a 52 week low of $149.03 and a 52 week high of $198.33. The company's 50 day moving average is $182.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.84. The company has a market capitalization of $43.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.38, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 1.16.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $1.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.68 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AMETEK will post 7.15 earnings per share for the current year.

AMETEK Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. This is an increase from AMETEK's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. AMETEK's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.89%.

AMETEK declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Friday, February 7th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.25 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the technology company to reacquire up to 2.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at AMETEK

In related news, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 30,460 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,967,114. This trade represents a 18.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AMETEK

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AME. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 62.6% in the 3rd quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 200 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in AMETEK by 3,116.7% in the fourth 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 during the period. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in AMETEK in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 1,176.5% in the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 217 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in AMETEK by 42.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 233 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AMETEK

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.