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

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)’s stock price was up 0.4% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $146.95 and last traded at $146.17. Approximately 30,527 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 372,425 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.63.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ATR. Bank of America cut AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target 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. 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 research note on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.60.

AptarGroup Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $9.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $153.02 and its 200 day moving average is $159.00.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts predict that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a 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

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,268,000 after acquiring an additional 5,248 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 113,503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,182,000 after purchasing an additional 34,573 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 43.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,066,000 after purchasing an additional 12,271 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AptarGroup by 5.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,515,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $245,444,000 after buying an additional 83,452 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in AptarGroup by 29.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,106,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $337,502,000 after buying an additional 479,193 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

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.