AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Short Interest Up 25.0% in February

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 756,500 shares, an increase of 25.0% from the February 13th total of 605,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 358,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on ATR. StockNews.com cut AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target (down from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America cut AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its position 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 during the period. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 328.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Trading Down 1.1 %

ATR traded down $1.57 on Tuesday, hitting $146.27. The company had a trading volume of 219,932 shares, compared to its average volume of 289,123. The company has a market cap of $9.73 billion, a PE ratio of 26.40, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56. AptarGroup has a 12-month low of $135.96 and a 12-month high of $178.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.01.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.24. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. Equities research analysts expect that AptarGroup will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

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.