AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Price Target Cut to $153.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo & Company has reduced its price target for AptarGroup from $173.00 to $153.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating, indicating a potential upside of 10.41% from the stock's previous close.
• AptarGroup's stock is currently trading around $138.58, down 2.0%, with its 12-month range between $130.85 and $178.03.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Buy" for AptarGroup, with a price target average of $174.60, while the company recently reported earnings per share of $1.66, beating estimates.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $173.00 to $153.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the industrial products company's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective suggests a potential upside of 10.41% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $182.00 to $172.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AptarGroup has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.60.

AptarGroup Trading Down 2.0%

AptarGroup stock traded down $2.77 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $138.58. 90,181 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 368,070. AptarGroup has a 12 month low of $130.85 and a 12 month high of $178.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $155.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.57.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.08. AptarGroup had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The company had revenue of $966.01 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $954.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. AptarGroup's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that AptarGroup will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at AptarGroup

In other news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 7,000 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.49, for a total transaction of $1,095,430.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,265 shares in the company, valued at $1,606,369.85. The trade was a 40.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 1,671 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.79, for a total transaction of $255,312.09. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,088 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,694,135.52. The trade was a 13.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,351 shares of company stock worth $5,257,371. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AptarGroup

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 617,365 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 297.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 473,021 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $74,312,000 after purchasing an additional 353,935 shares in the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,728,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,219,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $329,284,000 after buying an additional 247,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Management Inc. WI lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 40.8% during the 1st quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 767,636 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $113,902,000 after buying an additional 222,577 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

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