Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Raises Position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 23.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $841,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in AptarGroup during the 4th quarter valued at $22,925,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter valued at about $21,941,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 5.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,515,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $245,444,000 after purchasing an additional 83,452 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in AptarGroup by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 598,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $94,076,000 after purchasing an additional 60,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EULAV Asset Management grew its position in AptarGroup by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. EULAV Asset Management now owns 288,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $45,264,000 after purchasing an additional 58,599 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE ATR opened at $149.35 on Wednesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $9.93 billion, a PE ratio of 26.96, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56. AptarGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $135.96 and a one year high of $178.03. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $149.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.67.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America lowered 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. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $181.60.

AptarGroup 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.