AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the seven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $181.60.

Several research firms have recently commented on ATR. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price target (down from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 6th.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

NYSE:ATR opened at $144.04 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $9.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $145.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $157.47. AptarGroup has a 1-year low of $130.85 and a 1-year high of $178.03.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.24. AptarGroup had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.56%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AptarGroup will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

Institutional Trading of AptarGroup

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of AptarGroup by 155.0% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 278 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in AptarGroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in AptarGroup in the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 328.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 462 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

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.