Nuance Investments LLC Sells 159,015 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Nuance Investments LLC reduced its stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 65.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 85,622 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 159,015 shares during the quarter. Nuance Investments LLC owned approximately 0.13% of AptarGroup worth $13,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 58.9% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,268,000 after buying an additional 5,248 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AptarGroup by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,515,288 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $245,444,000 after acquiring an additional 83,452 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in AptarGroup by 282.9% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,800 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 5,024 shares during the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in AptarGroup during the third quarter valued at about $1,310,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of AptarGroup by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,002 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $157,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ATR. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 price target (down from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America downgraded shares of AptarGroup from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $173.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com cut shares of AptarGroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.60.

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of ATR stock traded down $2.53 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $146.83. The company had a trading volume of 239,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 303,562. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.96 and a 12 month high of $178.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm's fifty day moving average is $149.69 and its 200 day moving average is $158.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.24. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup's payout ratio is presently 32.49%.

About AptarGroup

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.