Choate Investment Advisors Reduces Stock Holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Choate Investment Advisors lessened its holdings in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 7.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 101,514 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 8,401 shares during the quarter. Choate Investment Advisors owned approximately 0.15% of AptarGroup worth $15,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ATR. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 13.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,864,198 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $298,626,000 after purchasing an additional 214,097 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the 4th quarter valued at about $22,925,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in AptarGroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,941,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in AptarGroup by 88.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 230,775 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $36,968,000 after buying an additional 108,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 5.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 83,452 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company's stock.

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AptarGroup Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of ATR traded down $1.86 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $145.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 332,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 370,586. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.20, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56. The company's 50-day moving average is $150.77 and its 200-day moving average is $158.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.96 and a 52-week high of $178.03.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 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, equities research analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup's payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.