AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

by · The Markets Daily

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR – Get Free Report)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $175.15 and last traded at $173.50, with a volume of 6548 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $170.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Dbs Bank raised shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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 research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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 equities 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.00.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on AptarGroup

AptarGroup Stock Up 1.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $11.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $150.54.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.14%.

AptarGroup declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at AptarGroup

In other AptarGroup news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.52, for a total value of $1,054,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,974 shares in the company, valued at $1,900,950.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Monnas Giovanna Kampouri sold 1,922 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.43, for a total transaction of $277,594.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,839 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,276,616.77. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.52, for a total transaction of $1,054,944.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,900,950.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,657 shares of company stock worth $7,562,862 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AptarGroup

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new stake in AptarGroup in the third quarter valued at about $108,239,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in AptarGroup by 111.0% in the second quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,075,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $151,394,000 after purchasing an additional 565,511 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in AptarGroup by 29.4% in the third 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 period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in AptarGroup by 182.1% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 538,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $86,315,000 after purchasing an additional 347,800 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in AptarGroup by 35.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 805,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $113,395,000 after purchasing an additional 212,886 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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