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

Barclays PLC increased its stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 83.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,138 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 24,639 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.08% of AptarGroup worth $8,506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in AptarGroup during the fourth quarter worth $116,265,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 617,365 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in AptarGroup in the 4th quarter valued at $22,925,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in AptarGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $21,941,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in AptarGroup by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 721,785 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $113,392,000 after acquiring an additional 111,244 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ATR shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on AptarGroup from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America downgraded AptarGroup from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $173.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut AptarGroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AptarGroup presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.60.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATR traded up $0.98 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $150.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 30,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 303,093. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $145.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.65. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $130.85 and a 12-month high of $178.03.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. AptarGroup's payout ratio is 32.49%.

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.