AptarGroup, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.45 (NYSE:ATR)

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, October 10th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be paid a dividend of 0.45 per share by the industrial products company on Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th.

AptarGroup has raised its dividend by an average of 3.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 31 consecutive years. AptarGroup has a dividend payout ratio of 30.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect AptarGroup to earn $6.01 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.0%.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

NYSE:ATR opened at $165.77 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $155.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. AptarGroup has a 12-month low of $120.36 and a 12-month high of $169.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.58.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $910.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $930.15 million. AptarGroup had a net margin of 9.00% and a return on equity of 15.13%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that AptarGroup will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 10th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at AptarGroup

In related news, Director Monnas Giovanna Kampouri sold 1,922 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.43, for a total transaction of $277,594.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,839 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,616.77. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Monnas Giovanna Kampouri sold 1,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.43, for a total transaction of $277,594.46. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,616.77. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Gael Touya sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.62, for a total value of $500,346.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,876,857.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,457 shares of company stock worth $7,314,030 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ATR. Dbs Bank raised AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.00.

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.