AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Trading 0.5% Higher – What’s Next?

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)’s stock price shot up 0.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $149.18 and last traded at $148.39. 62,527 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 366,222 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on ATR. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.60.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $9.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.59. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $153.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.05.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.24. AptarGroup had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.56%. Equities analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in AptarGroup during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in AptarGroup by 312.0% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 328.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.