AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Shares Down 0.2% – Should You Sell?

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) shares were down 0.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $145.92 and last traded at $146.76. Approximately 37,685 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 366,870 shares. The stock had previously closed at $147.04.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

AptarGroup Trading Down 0.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $9.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $155.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $158.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 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%. Research analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.66 earnings per share for the current year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.49%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AptarGroup

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in AptarGroup during the fourth quarter worth $116,265,000. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the third quarter worth about $108,239,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,481,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $389,854,000 after acquiring an additional 617,365 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AptarGroup by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,106,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $337,502,000 after purchasing an additional 479,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in AptarGroup by 297.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 473,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $74,312,000 after purchasing an additional 353,935 shares in 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.