Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,555,556 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 40,268 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.34% of AptarGroup worth $248,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in AptarGroup during the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake 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 stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $190.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company 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 report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded AptarGroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of AptarGroup from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $173.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two 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 MarketBeat, AptarGroup currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.60.

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AptarGroup Stock Performance

ATR traded down $4.32 on Thursday, reaching $139.43. The company had a trading volume of 68,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 376,727. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.85 and a 1 year high of $178.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.20 billion, a PE ratio of 25.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $146.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.86.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders 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 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup's payout ratio is currently 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.