StockNews.com Downgrades AMETEK (NYSE:AME) to Hold

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on AME. Bank of America raised AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on AMETEK from $166.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial increased their price target on AMETEK from $221.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.44.

AMETEK Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:AME opened at $180.89 on Friday. AMETEK has a 1 year low of $149.03 and a 1 year high of $198.33. The company has a market cap of $41.84 billion, a PE ratio of 31.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $187.54 and its 200 day moving average is $174.98.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The technology company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.04. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 19.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.64 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AMETEK will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider David F. Hermance sold 6,243 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.99, for a total transaction of $1,192,350.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 36,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,015,253.69. This trade represents a 14.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.90, for a total transaction of $1,321,737.30. Following the sale, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,200 shares of company stock worth $5,707,620 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AMETEK

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AME. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. raised its stake in AMETEK by 87.9% during the 3rd quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 1,964,236 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $337,279,000 after acquiring an additional 918,737 shares in the last quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in AMETEK during the 3rd quarter worth $130,579,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in AMETEK by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,680,309 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $288,526,000 after acquiring an additional 703,501 shares in the last quarter. D1 Capital Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in AMETEK during the 3rd quarter worth $79,782,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in AMETEK by 434.5% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 541,517 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $97,614,000 after acquiring an additional 440,197 shares in the last quarter. 87.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.