AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Stock Price Down 0.3% – Here’s Why

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)’s stock price dropped 0.3% during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $150.96 and last traded at $152.32. Approximately 55,258 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 381,623 shares. The stock had previously closed at $152.78.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

AptarGroup Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $9.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.56%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in AptarGroup by 312.0% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new stake in AptarGroup in the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 328.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. 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.