Cerity Partners LLC Has $3.41 Million Holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Cerity Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund 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 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ATR. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in AptarGroup by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,207,015 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,132,222,000 after purchasing an additional 58,777 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 617,365 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,555,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $248,570,000 after buying an additional 40,268 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,208,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $189,895,000 after buying an additional 50,651 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in AptarGroup in the 4th quarter valued at about $116,265,000. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AptarGroup Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE ATR opened at $144.22 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.03, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $146.01 and its 200 day moving average is $157.66. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.85 and a 52 week high of $178.03. 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 (NYSE:ATR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.24. AptarGroup had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.56%. Sell-side analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. 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. Bank of America cut shares of 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.60.

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.