AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Shares Up 0.3% – What’s Next?

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) traded up 0.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $147.12 and last traded at $147.04. 35,400 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 375,370 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.64.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America downgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.60.

AptarGroup Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $153.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.59.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.24. AptarGroup had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.56%. Research analysts predict that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AptarGroup

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATR. Creative Planning boosted its position in AptarGroup by 13.6% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its position in AptarGroup by 0.4% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 131,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,125,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in AptarGroup by 2.8% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,909 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,427,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in AptarGroup by 7.3% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,681 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,230,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in AptarGroup by 40.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 37,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,345,000 after purchasing an additional 10,815 shares during the period. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AptarGroup

AptarGroup, Inc designs and manufactures a range of drug delivery, consumer product dispensing, and active material science solutions and services for the pharmaceutical, beauty, personal care, home care, and food and beverage markets. The company operates through Aptar Pharma, Aptar Beauty, and Aptar Closures segments.