Dbs Bank Upgrades AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) to Strong-Buy

Dbs Bank upgraded shares of AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on ATR. Jefferies Financial Group raised AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AptarGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $190.00.

AptarGroup Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE ATR opened at $168.52 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.16, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.58. AptarGroup has a one year low of $120.36 and a one year high of $169.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $154.73 and its 200-day moving average is $148.02.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.01. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.13% and a net margin of 9.00%. The company had revenue of $910.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $930.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that AptarGroup will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is presently 38.63%.

AptarGroup declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at AptarGroup

In other news, insider Hedi Tlili sold 1,375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.54, for a total transaction of $209,742.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,430,672.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.56, for a total transaction of $117,248.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,956,701.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Hedi Tlili sold 1,375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.54, for a total value of $209,742.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,430,672.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 49,457 shares of company stock valued at $7,314,030 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of AptarGroup

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in AptarGroup in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in AptarGroup by 446.5% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in AptarGroup by 281.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new stake in AptarGroup in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in AptarGroup by 4,983.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

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.