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

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 10th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, July 24th will be given a dividend of 0.45 per share by the industrial products company on Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th.

AptarGroup has a dividend payout ratio of 27.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect AptarGroup to earn $6.24 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 28.8%.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

NYSE ATR traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $157.87. 292,046 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 324,255. The company has a market cap of $10.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.57. AptarGroup has a 12-month low of $130.85 and a 12-month high of $178.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $155.16 and a 200 day moving average of $151.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.04. AptarGroup had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The company had revenue of $887.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $894.26 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that AptarGroup will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATR has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $170.00 price target (up from $162.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $178.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 1,671 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.79, for a total transaction of $255,312.09. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,135.52. This trade represents a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Shiela Vinczeller sold 995 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.42, for a total transaction of $151,657.90. Following the sale, the insider owned 26,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,798.42. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 45,680 shares of company stock valued at $6,983,798 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AptarGroup

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 88,716 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $13,164,000 after acquiring an additional 16,145 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,835 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 671 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 28.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,399 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $356,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company's stock.

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.