Teacher Retirement System of Texas Grows Stock Holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 58,499 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,239 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned 0.09% of AptarGroup worth $9,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ATR. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in AptarGroup during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of AptarGroup by 310.4% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in AptarGroup by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 650 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ATR. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 price target (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on 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 lowered AptarGroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded AptarGroup from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $173.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.60.

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AptarGroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATR traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $148.45. 630,399 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 380,039. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $150.16 and a 200 day moving average of $158.78. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $135.96 and a 1 year high of $178.03.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.24. AptarGroup had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.56%. On average, analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

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