AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Upgraded by William Blair to Outperform

William Blair upgraded shares of AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports.

ATR has been the subject of several other reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on AptarGroup from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on AptarGroup from $157.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

Shares of ATR traded up $3.05 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $146.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 676,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 324,456. AptarGroup has a 1-year low of $111.63 and a 1-year high of $148.51. The stock has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.51, a PEG ratio of 3.93 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $132.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 9th. The industrial products company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $838.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $842.50 million. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 8.83%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.92 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AptarGroup will post 5.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 25th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 24th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio is presently 35.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AptarGroup

In related news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 32,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.67, for a total transaction of $4,533,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 159,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,528,930.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Monnas Giovanna Kampouri sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.45, for a total transaction of $284,900.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 9,648 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,374,357.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 32,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.67, for a total value of $4,533,440.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 159,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,528,930.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 37,500 shares of company stock valued at $5,318,280 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Albert D Mason Inc. raised its stake in AptarGroup by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Albert D Mason Inc. now owns 10,257 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,476,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 9.0% in the third quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,210 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 15,810 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 2,230 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $276,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 24,574 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,037,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.