AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Stock Price Down 1% – Time to Sell?

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) shares were down 1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $149.43 and last traded at $149.60. Approximately 67,619 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 379,352 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.15.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America downgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.60.

AptarGroup Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $10.19 billion, a PE ratio of 27.61, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $152.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued 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 dividend yield of 1.17%. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

Institutional Trading of AptarGroup

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in AptarGroup during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in AptarGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in AptarGroup by 312.0% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new stake in AptarGroup in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in AptarGroup by 328.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AptarGroup Company Profile

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.