AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Trading Up 0.4% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) rose 0.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $146.21 and last traded at $145.32. Approximately 20,604 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average daily volume of 375,019 shares. The stock had previously closed at $144.76.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America cut AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. 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 target price on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, AptarGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.60.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $151.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.95.

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

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ATR. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in AptarGroup by 312.0% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in AptarGroup during the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 328.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $75,000. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

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.