Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Invests $1.22 Million in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. bought a new position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,783 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,223,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in AptarGroup during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Park Place Capital Corp bought a new position in AptarGroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 328.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 437 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in AptarGroup by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 650 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.52% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research 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. Bank of America cut 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. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. 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 company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.60.

Remove Ads

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of AptarGroup stock traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $148.45. 630,399 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 292,970. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.78. 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 firm has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.80, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.24. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. Research analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio is 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.