AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Analysts

Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Buy" from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $178.60.

ATR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $170.00 price target (up previously from $162.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Shiela Vinczeller sold 995 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.42, for a total transaction of $151,657.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 26,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,798.42. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 17,771 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,687,686.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 204,986 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,002,082.64. The trade was a 7.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,095 shares of company stock worth $4,565,770 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AptarGroup

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in AptarGroup by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,207,015 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,132,222,000 after purchasing an additional 58,777 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in AptarGroup by 33.1% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,481,563 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $389,854,000 after purchasing an additional 617,365 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in AptarGroup by 12.6% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,219,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $329,284,000 after buying an additional 247,519 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,555,556 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $248,570,000 after purchasing an additional 40,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,208,753 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $189,895,000 after buying an additional 50,651 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AptarGroup Stock Up 1.4%

ATR traded up $2.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $155.52. 352,482 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 303,900. The stock has a market cap of $10.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.07, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.58. AptarGroup has a 1-year low of $130.85 and a 1-year high of $178.03. The stock's 50-day moving average is $146.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.04. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. The company had revenue of $887.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $894.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. AptarGroup's revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that AptarGroup will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.16%. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.85%.

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.