AptarGroup (ATR) Rewards Shareholders With 10% Dividend Hike

Core Viewpoint - AptarGroup, Inc. announced a 10% increase in its quarterly dividend, marking the 31st consecutive year of annual dividend growth, reflecting the company's solid performance and growth opportunities [1] Financial Performance - The new quarterly dividend will be 45 cents, payable on August 15, 2024, to shareholders of record as of July 25, 2024, increasing the dividend yield from 1.15% to 1.26% [1] - AptarGroup has a three-year dividend growth rate of 2.6% and a payout ratio of 32.2% [1] - Over the last five years, the company has returned more than $780 million to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases [1][2] Cash Position and Debt - As of March 31, 2024, AptarGroup had approximately $200 million in cash and cash equivalents, maintaining a strong balance sheet [2] - The total debt-to-total capital ratio was 0.29 as of March 31, 2024, down from 0.36 a year earlier [2] - The company repurchased shares worth $12 million in the first quarter of 2024 [2] Stock Performance - ATR shares have increased by 23% over the past year, outperforming the industry average rise of 7.3% [3] Zacks Rank and Comparables - AptarGroup holds a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy) [4] - Other top-ranked stocks in the Industrial Products sector include Intellicheck, Inc. (IDN), Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT), and Cintas Corporation (CTAS) [4] - IDN and AIT have Zacks Rank 1 (Strong Buy), while CTAS has a Zacks Rank 2 [4]