AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Trading 1.3% Higher – Should You Buy?

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) was up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $147.39 and last traded at $147.54. Approximately 53,861 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 366,760 shares. The stock had previously closed at $145.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ATR. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James restated 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. Robert W. Baird reduced 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. Bank of America cut 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 downgraded 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 issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AptarGroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.60.

AptarGroup Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $154.05 and a 200-day moving average of $159.02. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $9.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.59.

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

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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 is presently 32.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATR. Creative Planning raised its stake in AptarGroup by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 0.4% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 131,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,125,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 266.3% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $141,000 after acquiring an additional 639 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in AptarGroup by 22.2% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in AptarGroup in the third quarter worth about $203,000. 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.