Analysts Set AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Target Price at $180.60

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Hedi Tlili sold 3,614 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.96, for a total value of $563,639.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,462,748.84. This represents a 27.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.49, for a total transaction of $1,095,430.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,265 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,606,369.85. This represents a 40.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 45,680 shares of company stock worth $6,983,798. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AptarGroup

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in AptarGroup by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,028 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 10,981 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,725,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Nia Impact Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 9,690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,522,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 0.5% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,760,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 1.9% during the second quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 5,337 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $835,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AptarGroup Price Performance

ATR opened at $160.94 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $156.02 and a 200-day moving average of $151.56. The company has a market capitalization of $10.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.37, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.57. AptarGroup has a 1-year low of $130.85 and a 1-year high of $178.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.25.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.04. AptarGroup had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The business had revenue of $887.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $894.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that AptarGroup will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.85%.

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.