AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)’s share price hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $130.85 and last traded at $132.88, with a volume of 23935 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $140.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

AptarGroup Stock Down 1.0 %

The company has a 50-day moving average of $147.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $158.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $8.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.59.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ATR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in AptarGroup by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,207,015 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,132,222,000 after acquiring an additional 58,777 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of AptarGroup by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,481,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $389,854,000 after purchasing an additional 617,365 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in AptarGroup by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,555,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $248,570,000 after purchasing an additional 40,268 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,208,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $189,895,000 after purchasing an additional 50,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in AptarGroup by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,116,612 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $175,420,000 after purchasing an additional 108,321 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

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.