AMETEK (NYSE:AME) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

AMETEK, Inc. (NYSE:AME)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $194.71 and last traded at $194.71, with a volume of 165933 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $194.00.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on AME. Mizuho lifted their price target on AMETEK from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com upgraded AMETEK from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Wolfe Research upgraded AMETEK to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on AMETEK from $216.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AMETEK has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $197.86.

AMETEK Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $171.87 and a 200-day moving average of $169.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.80, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

AMETEK (NYSE:AME) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. AMETEK had a return on equity of 16.88% and a net margin of 19.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.64 EPS. Equities analysts predict that AMETEK, Inc. will post 6.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AMETEK Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. AMETEK’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,460 shares of the company’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 directly owns 23,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,006,454.91. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider David F. Hermance sold 6,243 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.99, for a total value of $1,192,350.57. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 36,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,015,253.69. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Steven W. Kohlhagen sold 1,460 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $4,006,454.91. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in AMETEK by 48.4% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 7,075,565 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,294,121,000 after acquiring an additional 2,306,535 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in AMETEK by 34.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,602,753 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $600,615,000 after acquiring an additional 926,657 shares in the last quarter. Meridiem Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of AMETEK during the third quarter valued at $130,579,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of AMETEK by 72.0% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,680,309 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $288,526,000 after buying an additional 703,501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, James Hambro & Partners LLP purchased a new stake in AMETEK in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $60,188,000. 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.