Cerity Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Cerity Partners LLC lessened its stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,476 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,781 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in AptarGroup were worth $3,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $116,265,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 617,365 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in AptarGroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,925,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,941,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on ATR. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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 cut their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America lowered AptarGroup from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $173.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded AptarGroup from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Two investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AptarGroup presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.60.

AptarGroup Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of AptarGroup stock traded down $1.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $143.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 390,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 307,157. The stock has a market cap of $9.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.59. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.85 and a twelve month high of $178.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $145.57 and a 200-day moving average of $157.27.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.24. AptarGroup had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.56%. Research analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. 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.