Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Raises Stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 111.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 44,642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,509 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of AptarGroup worth $7,013,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in AptarGroup by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,889,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $462,919,000 after purchasing an additional 14,001 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 29.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,106,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $337,502,000 after acquiring an additional 479,193 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 13.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,864,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $298,626,000 after acquiring an additional 214,097 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 5.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,515,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $245,444,000 after acquiring an additional 83,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 7.7% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,158,102 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $185,516,000 after acquiring an additional 82,934 shares in the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AptarGroup Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE ATR opened at $145.78 on Wednesday. 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 52 week low of $135.96 and a 52 week high of $178.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $152.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.59.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ATR. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 target price (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America downgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $181.60.

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.