AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Trading Down 8.9% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• AptarGroup's stock declined by 8.9%, closing at $143.09 after trading as low as $143.26, with trading volume up 15% compared to its average.
• AptarGroup has received positive ratings from analysts, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and a target price of $180.60 following multiple upgrades earlier in the year.
• The company reported earnings of $1.66 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, while also announcing a dividend of $0.45 to be paid on August 14th, representing a yield of 1.3%.

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) dropped 8.9% on Friday . The company traded as low as $143.26 and last traded at $143.09. Approximately 421,047 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 15% from the average daily volume of 365,943 shares. The stock had previously closed at $157.14.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on AptarGroup from $173.00 to $153.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on AptarGroup from $182.00 to $172.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $174.60.

AptarGroup Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.57.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $966.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $954.06 million. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 10.84%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.98%.

Insider Activity at AptarGroup

In other news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 1,671 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.79, for a total transaction of $255,312.09. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 11,088 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.49, for a total value of $1,095,430.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,606,369.85. This represents a 40.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 34,351 shares of company stock valued at $5,257,371. 0.68% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AptarGroup

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP acquired a new position in shares of AptarGroup in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,498,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 46,640 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,296,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 34.0% in the 2nd quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 1,867 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Strs Ohio boosted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 29.4% in the 2nd quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 16,664 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 3,790 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 92.0% in the 2nd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 3,611 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 1,730 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.