AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Hits New 52-Week High After Dividend Announcement

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The stock traded as high as $161.66 and last traded at $161.66, with a volume of 91124 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $159.22.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. AptarGroup's payout ratio is 37.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on AptarGroup from $163.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.36. The firm has a market cap of $10.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.58. The company's 50 day moving average is $152.02 and its 200 day moving average is $147.05.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.01. The business 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%. AptarGroup's quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at AptarGroup

In related news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.56, for a total value of $117,248.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,174 shares in the company, valued at $2,956,701.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.56, for a total transaction of $117,248.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,174 shares in the company, valued at $2,956,701.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Hedi Tlili sold 1,375 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.54, for a total transaction of $209,742.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,379 shares in the company, valued at $1,430,672.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,457 shares of company stock worth $7,314,030. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AptarGroup

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in AptarGroup in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in AptarGroup by 281.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 240 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in AptarGroup by 446.5% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of AptarGroup in the second quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 4,983.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.