AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Stock Price Down 0.2% – Should You Sell?

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)’s share price traded down 0.2% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $146.19 and last traded at $146.34. 36,588 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average session volume of 364,323 shares. The stock had previously closed at $146.68.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ATR. Bank of America lowered shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.60.

AptarGroup Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.92. The company has a market cap of $9.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 predict that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is 32.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATR. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in AptarGroup during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 312.0% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in AptarGroup during the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in AptarGroup by 328.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.