AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Upgraded at Dbs Bank

Dbs Bank upgraded shares of AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on ATR. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $190.00.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

Shares of ATR stock opened at $168.52 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.17 billion, a PE ratio of 36.16, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $154.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.95. AptarGroup has a one year low of $120.36 and a one year high of $169.65.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $910.10 million during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that AptarGroup will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.63%.

AptarGroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at AptarGroup

In other news, CFO Robert Kuhn sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total transaction of $30,036.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,844,599.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Robert Kuhn sold 200 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total value of $30,036.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,844,599.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 32,000 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.56, for a total transaction of $4,721,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,692,852.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,457 shares of company stock valued at $7,314,030 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AptarGroup

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in AptarGroup during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in AptarGroup by 446.5% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in AptarGroup by 281.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in AptarGroup during the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in AptarGroup by 4,983.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.