AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Trading Up 0.3% – Time to Buy?

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) shares rose 0.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $147.73 and last traded at $147.09. Approximately 22,747 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 288,678 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America lowered AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price target (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.60.

AptarGroup Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $9.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $151.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.04.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AptarGroup

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATR. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of AptarGroup by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 131,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,125,000 after buying an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in shares of AptarGroup by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 4,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $689,000 after buying an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at about $226,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AptarGroup by 214.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,397 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,466,000 after buying an additional 10,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of AptarGroup by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. 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.