AMETEK (NYSE:AME) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com lowered shares of AMETEK (NYSE:AME) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of AMETEK to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America raised shares of AMETEK from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $195.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Monday. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of AMETEK from $205.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded shares of AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AMETEK currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.50.

AMETEK Price Performance

Shares of AMETEK stock opened at $189.45 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.84. AMETEK has a one year low of $149.03 and a one year high of $198.33. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $183.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $173.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.15.

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

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. AMETEK’s payout ratio is currently 19.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AMETEK

In related news, insider Emanuela Speranza sold 6,747 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.90, for a total value of $1,321,737.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 30,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,967,114. This represents a 18.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,460 shares of AMETEK stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.59, for a total value of $250,521.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 23,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,006,454.91. The trade was a 5.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,660 shares of company stock worth $5,958,141. 0.61% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AMETEK

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 172,180 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,704,000 after buying an additional 17,762 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in AMETEK by 59.9% in the second quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,880 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,981,000 after purchasing an additional 4,451 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of AMETEK by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,639 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $440,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its position in shares of AMETEK by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 3,834 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $639,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI lifted its stake in shares of AMETEK by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 1,340 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. 87.43% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.