AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Stock Position Lowered by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC lessened its position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 41.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,068 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 40,459 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $8,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ATR. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of AptarGroup by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,889,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $462,919,000 after purchasing an additional 14,001 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of AptarGroup by 13.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,864,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $298,626,000 after purchasing an additional 214,097 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of AptarGroup by 5.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,515,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $245,444,000 after purchasing an additional 83,452 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of AptarGroup by 7.7% during the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,158,102 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $185,516,000 after purchasing an additional 82,934 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in shares of AptarGroup by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 703,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,490,000 after purchasing an additional 27,614 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

Shares of ATR stock opened at $145.82 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $151.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.96 and a 1-year high of $178.03. The company has a market capitalization of $9.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last issued its 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 return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ATR shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.60.

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.