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

Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) have earned an average rating of “Buy” from the six ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $180.60.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on AptarGroup from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on AptarGroup from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th.

AptarGroup Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE:ATR opened at $158.67 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $156.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $151.64. AptarGroup has a fifty-two week low of $130.85 and a fifty-two week high of $178.03.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $887.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $894.26 million. AptarGroup had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 15.10%. AptarGroup’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that AptarGroup will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is 32.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Gael Touya sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.62, for a total value of $503,646.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 33,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,183,433.06. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Hedi Tlili sold 3,614 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.96, for a total transaction of $563,639.44. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,462,748.84. This trade represents a 27.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 45,680 shares of company stock valued at $6,983,798. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AptarGroup

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,311,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in AptarGroup by 143.5% during the second quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 10,724 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,678,000 after buying an additional 6,320 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in AptarGroup by 5.4% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 62,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,790,000 after buying an additional 3,234 shares in the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its position in AptarGroup by 3.6% during the second quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 24,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,832,000 after buying an additional 854 shares during the period. Finally, Delaney Dennis R increased its holdings in AptarGroup by 1.3% in the second quarter. Delaney Dennis R now owns 47,369 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,410,000 after buying an additional 595 shares in 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.