AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Position Decreased by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 111,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,371 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $17,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATR. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of AptarGroup in the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in AptarGroup by 310.4% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in AptarGroup by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 650 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $102,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price 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 cut shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target (down 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 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AptarGroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.60.

AptarGroup Trading Down 5.8 %

AptarGroup stock opened at $140.09 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $135.96 and a 12 month high of $178.03. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.45. The stock has a market cap of $9.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is presently 32.49%.

AptarGroup Company 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.