Bank of America Corp DE Has $74.31 Million Stock Position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 297.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 473,021 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 353,935 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.71% of AptarGroup worth $74,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the 4th quarter valued at $116,265,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,481,563 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $389,854,000 after acquiring an additional 617,365 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the 4th quarter worth $22,925,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the 4th quarter worth $21,941,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 721,785 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $113,392,000 after acquiring an additional 111,244 shares in the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at AptarGroup

In other news, insider Shiela Vinczeller sold 995 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.42, for a total value of $151,657.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,798.42. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 17,771 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,687,686.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 204,986 shares in the company, valued at $31,002,082.64. The trade was a 7.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,095 shares of company stock worth $4,565,770. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

AptarGroup Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE ATR traded up $2.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $157.11. 278,607 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 306,426. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.85 and a 12 month high of $178.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $147.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market capitalization of $10.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.36, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.58.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.04. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. The company had revenue of $887.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $894.26 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. AptarGroup's payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $170.00 target price (up previously from $162.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. StockNews.com raised AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on AptarGroup from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AptarGroup presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $178.60.

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.