AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.45

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, January 23rd,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of 0.45 per share by the industrial products company on Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%.

AptarGroup has raised its dividend by an average of 4.7% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 31 consecutive years. AptarGroup has a payout ratio of 27.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect AptarGroup to earn $5.95 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 30.3%.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

Shares of ATR stock traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $159.67. 149,812 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 273,587. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $163.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.89. 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 52-week low of $128.05 and a 52-week high of $178.03.

AptarGroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 10th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ATR shares. Bank of America lowered shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $190.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 174,118 shares in the company, valued at $29,530,412.80. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.83, for a total transaction of $162,752.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,324,977.84. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.