Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,555,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,268 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $248,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in AptarGroup by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,207,015 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,132,222,000 after purchasing an additional 58,777 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in AptarGroup by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,889,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $462,919,000 after buying an additional 14,001 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,208,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $189,895,000 after buying an additional 50,651 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in AptarGroup during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $116,265,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 703,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $110,490,000 after acquiring an additional 27,614 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Stock Down 5.8 %

Shares of AptarGroup stock opened at $140.09 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $148.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.32 billion, a PE ratio of 25.29, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.38.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last released 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 return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. On average, analysts anticipate that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is 32.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. 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 report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America lowered shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.60.

About AptarGroup

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.