Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 13,827 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 36.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,676 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 13,827 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.08% of AptarGroup worth $8,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in AptarGroup in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in AptarGroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in AptarGroup by 312.0% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 342 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new stake in AptarGroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in AptarGroup by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ATR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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 cut shares of AptarGroup from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $173.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 target price (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of AptarGroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.60.

AptarGroup Trading Down 0.3 %

AptarGroup stock traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $146.53. The stock had a trading volume of 283,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 374,464. The stock has a market cap of $9.74 billion, a PE ratio of 26.45, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.59. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.96 and a 52 week high of $178.03. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.86.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.24. AptarGroup had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.56%. Analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.49%.

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.