AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com lowered shares of AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Monday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on ATR. Bank of America downgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Two equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AptarGroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.60.

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of ATR stock opened at $143.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $9.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.05. AptarGroup has a one year low of $134.57 and a one year high of $178.03.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.24. AptarGroup had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.62%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AptarGroup will post 5.95 EPS for the current year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued 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 1.26%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AptarGroup news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.83, for a total value of $162,752.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,324,977.84. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATR. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of AptarGroup in the third quarter worth $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 446.5% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AptarGroup in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Huntington National Bank raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 312.0% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Hedge funds and other 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.