AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $169.85 and last traded at $168.13, with a volume of 75638 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $166.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on ATR shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Dbs Bank raised shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.00.

AptarGroup Trading Up 1.4 %

The company’s fifty day moving average is $156.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.98. The stock has a market cap of $11.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $910.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $930.15 million. AptarGroup had a net margin of 9.00% and a return on equity of 15.13%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 24th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.63%.

AptarGroup announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AptarGroup news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 32,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.56, for a total transaction of $4,721,920.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 174,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,692,852.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other AptarGroup news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.56, for a total transaction of $117,248.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 20,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,956,701.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 32,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.56, for a total transaction of $4,721,920.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,692,852.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,457 shares of company stock valued at $7,314,030. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AptarGroup

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ATR. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of AptarGroup by 281.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of AptarGroup by 446.5% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the second quarter worth approximately $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of AptarGroup by 4,983.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. grew its position in shares of AptarGroup by 25.0% during the second quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.