AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Shares Bought by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $3,027,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in AptarGroup during the third quarter worth $25,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of AptarGroup in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake 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 worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 328.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 437 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Price Performance

AptarGroup stock opened at $152.87 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.59, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.96 and a 52-week high of $178.03.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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, equities analysts anticipate that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is 32.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on ATR shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price target (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup 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 for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.