AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Stock Price Up 0.4% – Should You Buy?

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) shares rose 0.4% 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on ATR. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup 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 note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.60.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $151.32 and a two-hundred 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 company 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.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.24. AptarGroup had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.56%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.49%.

Institutional Trading of AptarGroup

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in AptarGroup in the 4th quarter worth $111,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of AptarGroup in the fourth quarter worth about $1,705,000. Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 88.3% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 1,925 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in AptarGroup by 412.4% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 19,260 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,026,000 after purchasing an additional 15,501 shares during the period. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in AptarGroup in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $221,000. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.