AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Shares Down 0.8% – Time to Sell?

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) shares fell 0.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $146.73 and last traded at $146.72. 18,715 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 95% from the average session volume of 379,464 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.89.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ATR. Bank of America cut AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target (down from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AptarGroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.60.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $151.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.95. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market cap of $9.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.24. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. On average, equities analysts expect that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share 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 paid 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 presently 32.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AptarGroup

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $317,000 after buying an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 650 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,028 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $162,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.