AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Receives $178.60 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $178.60.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up previously from $162.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Raymond James dropped their price target on AptarGroup from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th.

Insider Transactions at AptarGroup

In other news, insider Shiela Vinczeller sold 995 shares of the company'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 value of $151,657.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,008,798.42. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 11,329 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.39, for a total value of $1,726,426.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 204,986 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,237,816.54. This represents a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,709 shares of company stock valued at $6,224,840 over the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AptarGroup

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Simplex Trading LLC grew its holdings in AptarGroup by 107.4% during the first quarter. Simplex Trading LLC now owns 224 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in AptarGroup during the first quarter valued at $33,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in AptarGroup by 155.0% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 278 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in AptarGroup during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in AptarGroup by 281.9% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 317 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the period. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AptarGroup Price Performance

NYSE ATR traded up $0.77 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $153.26. The company had a trading volume of 264,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 312,800. The company has a market capitalization of $10.12 billion, a PE ratio of 27.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.59. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $150.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $153.67. AptarGroup has a twelve month low of $130.85 and a twelve month high of $178.03.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $887.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $894.26 million. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. AptarGroup's quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that AptarGroup will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 1st. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.85%.

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.