Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 139,666 AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 139,666 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $21,941,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.21% of AptarGroup as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in AptarGroup in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Principal Securities Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 462 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 310.4% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 591 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James lowered their target price on AptarGroup from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America lowered shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of AptarGroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AptarGroup currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.60.

AptarGroup Stock Up 0.9 %

ATR stock traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $149.37. 93,913 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 306,779. The stock has a market cap of $9.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.59. AptarGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.85 and a fifty-two week high of $178.03. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $145.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.88. 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 (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, 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. AptarGroup's payout ratio is presently 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.