Atrion (NASDAQ:ATRI) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Shares of Atrion Co. (NASDAQ:ATRI) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 8,248 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the previous session’s volume of 13,347 shares.The stock last traded at $449.40 and had previously closed at $448.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atrion from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st.

Atrion Trading Up 1.8 %

The company has a market cap of $802.56 million, a PE ratio of 40.62 and a beta of 0.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $375.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $367.15.

Atrion (NASDAQ:ATRI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The medical instruments supplier reported $3.65 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $43.58 million for the quarter. Atrion had a net margin of 11.46% and a return on equity of 8.07%.

Atrion Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $2.20 per share. This represents a $8.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Atrion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atrion

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATRI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Atrion by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 84,550 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $32,027,000 after buying an additional 1,566 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Atrion by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,719 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $2,925,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Atrion by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 1,171 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Atrion by 356.3% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,336 shares of the medical instruments supplier’s stock valued at $885,000 after buying an additional 1,824 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Atrion in the fourth quarter valued at about $230,000. 66.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Atrion

Atrion Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and sells products for fluid delivery, cardiovascular, and ophthalmic applications in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company's fluid delivery products include valves that fill, hold, and release controlled amounts of fluids or gasses for use in various intubation, intravenous, catheter, and other applications in the anesthesia and oncology fields, as well as promote infection control in hospital and home healthcare environments.