By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR – Free Report) by 33.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,234 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,802 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $2,393,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATR. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the 4th quarter worth about $42,000. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in AptarGroup in the 4th quarter worth about $67,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in AptarGroup by 328.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in AptarGroup by 310.4% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of AptarGroup by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 650 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company’s stock.
AptarGroup Trading Down 0.1 %
ATR opened at $145.07 on Friday. 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 company’s 50 day simple moving average is $150.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $158.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.96 and a 1-year high of $178.03.
AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts expect that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.
AptarGroup Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is currently 32.49%.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America lowered shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.60.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on AptarGroup
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.
Further Reading
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ATR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for AptarGroup Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for AptarGroup and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.