Handelsbanken Fonder AB Acquires 60,000 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 598,830 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 60,000 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.90% of AptarGroup worth $94,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in AptarGroup during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in AptarGroup during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of AptarGroup by 312.0% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 342 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of AptarGroup in the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

AptarGroup Trading Down 0.8 %

ATR stock traded down $1.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $145.54. 189,194 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 368,542. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.27, a P/E/G 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $154.97 and a 200-day moving average of $158.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.38.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.49%.

AptarGroup 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.