AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Stock Price Up 0.6% – Should You Buy?

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) shot up 0.6% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $149.43 and last traded at $149.34. 49,500 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average session volume of 376,922 shares. The stock had previously closed at $148.44.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America downgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.60.

AptarGroup Stock Up 1.3 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $152.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $159.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.00 billion, a PE ratio of 27.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.59. 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) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.24. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. As a group, research analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

Institutional Trading of AptarGroup

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of AptarGroup by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 131,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,125,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in AptarGroup by 40.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 37,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,345,000 after buying an additional 10,815 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in AptarGroup during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $204,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of AptarGroup in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc increased its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 4,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $689,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.