AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $190.00.

AptarGroup Price Performance

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.15 billion, a PE ratio of 36.14, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.58.

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

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be given 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.63%.

AptarGroup declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 10th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at AptarGroup

In other AptarGroup news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 800 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.56, for a total value of $117,248.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 20,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,956,701.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other AptarGroup news, insider Shiela Vinczeller sold 1,660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.15, for a total value of $250,909.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 22,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,423,698.65. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.56, for a total transaction of $117,248.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 20,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,956,701.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 49,457 shares of company stock valued at $7,314,030. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AptarGroup

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised 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 worth $151,394,000 after acquiring an additional 565,511 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 182.1% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 538,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $86,315,000 after purchasing an additional 347,800 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in AptarGroup by 35.9% during 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 last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 36.2% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 519,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,179,000 after buying an additional 138,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the 2nd quarter worth $17,263,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.