AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Shares Down 1% – Should You Sell?

Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) traded down 1% on Friday . The stock traded as low as $149.43 and last traded at $149.60. 67,619 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 379,352 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America cut AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AptarGroup presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.60.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $10.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.24. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 32.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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