AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Position Boosted by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 28.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,356 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,414 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $2,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in AptarGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Park Place Capital Corp bought a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 328.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 437 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 462 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in AptarGroup during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $75,000. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ATR. Raymond James cut their target price on AptarGroup from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $170.00 price target (up previously from $162.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.60.

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATR traded up $1.73 during trading on Friday, reaching $156.68. The company had a trading volume of 112,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 304,975. The firm's fifty day moving average is $147.14 and its 200 day moving average is $155.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a PE ratio of 28.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.58. AptarGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.85 and a twelve month high of $178.03.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $887.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $894.26 million. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Shiela Vinczeller sold 995 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.42, for a total value of $151,657.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 26,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,798.42. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 11,329 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.39, for a total transaction of $1,726,426.31. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 204,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,237,816.54. The trade was a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,095 shares of company stock worth $4,565,770. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

AptarGroup 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.