AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Receives $189.50 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Buy" by the six analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $188.25.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Dbs Bank raised shares of AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America downgraded AptarGroup from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $173.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.83, for a total transaction of $162,752.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,324,977.84. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.60, for a total value of $5,088,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,118 shares in the company, valued at $29,530,412.80. The trade was a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 43.8% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 113,503 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $18,182,000 after purchasing an additional 34,573 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its position in AptarGroup by 43.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,202 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,066,000 after buying an additional 12,271 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 5.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,515,288 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $245,444,000 after buying an additional 83,452 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 212,886 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $337,502,000 after acquiring an additional 479,193 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AptarGroup Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of ATR traded down $2.74 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $152.76. The stock had a trading volume of 369,029 shares, compared to its average volume of 286,310. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.91. The firm has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. AptarGroup has a fifty-two week low of $122.37 and a fifty-two week high of $178.03.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 24th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.14%.

AptarGroup announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 10th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.