Xponance Inc. Grows Stock Position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Xponance Inc. lifted its stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 14.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,026 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $1,281,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in AptarGroup by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 131,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,125,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in AptarGroup by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Commerce Bank increased its holdings in AptarGroup by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in AptarGroup by 88.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 230,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,968,000 after purchasing an additional 108,175 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in AptarGroup by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,066,000 after purchasing an additional 12,271 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

Shares of ATR opened at $145.07 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average price is $150.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.78. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $135.96 and a 52 week high of $178.03. The stock has a market cap of $9.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56.

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

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ATR. 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. StockNews.com cut AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AptarGroup has an average 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.