AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Shares Acquired by Northern Trust Corp

Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,116,612 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 108,321 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned about 1.68% of AptarGroup worth $175,420,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in AptarGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in AptarGroup by 328.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 437 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its stake in AptarGroup by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 462 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in AptarGroup during the fourth quarter worth $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.52% of the company's stock.

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATR traded up $0.37 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $151.85. The company had a trading volume of 143,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 302,759. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $146.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.04. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $10.02 billion, a PE ratio of 27.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.59. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $887.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $894.26 million. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. The firm's revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $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 1.19%. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ATR. Raymond James lowered their price target on AptarGroup from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective 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. Bank of America downgraded AptarGroup from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $173.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up from $162.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price 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.