American Century Companies Inc. Sells 6,159 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 546,363 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,159 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.82% of AptarGroup worth $85,834,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ATR. State Street Corp lifted its stake in AptarGroup by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,889,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $462,919,000 after acquiring an additional 14,001 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $298,626,000 after purchasing an additional 214,097 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $245,444,000 after purchasing an additional 83,452 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in AptarGroup by 4.1% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in AptarGroup by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 642,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,933,000 after purchasing an additional 50,752 shares during the period. 88.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AptarGroup Price Performance

NYSE ATR opened at $147.95 on Tuesday. 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 12 month low of $135.96 and a 12 month high of $178.03. The stock has a market cap of $9.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50 day moving average is $150.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.82.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ATR. StockNews.com cut AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America cut shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James restated 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. Two investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.60.

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.