AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $181.60.

ATR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America lowered AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 6th.

Institutional Trading of AptarGroup

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ATR. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in AptarGroup by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,268,000 after purchasing an additional 5,248 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 43.9% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,066,000 after buying an additional 12,271 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 5.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,515,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $245,444,000 after buying an additional 83,452 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 282.9% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after buying an additional 5,024 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in AptarGroup during the 3rd quarter worth $1,310,000. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AptarGroup Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ATR opened at $145.07 on Friday. AptarGroup has a 1 year low of $135.96 and a 1 year high of $178.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $150.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.72. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.65 billion, a PE ratio of 26.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. Analysts expect that AptarGroup will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is 32.49%.

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.