Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,971,672 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 135,213 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 2.96% of AptarGroup worth $309,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 312.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 328.4% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 437 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.52% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered AptarGroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 target price (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America downgraded AptarGroup from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $173.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AptarGroup currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.60.
Read Our Latest Research Report on ATR
AptarGroup Trading Up 1.1 %
Shares of ATR traded up $1.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $152.87. The company had a trading volume of 480,214 shares, compared to its average volume of 389,252. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.96 and a 1-year high of $178.03. The stock has a market cap of $10.16 billion, a PE ratio of 27.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $152.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.01. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.
AptarGroup Announces Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.49%.
AptarGroup Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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