Vestcor Inc Invests $625,000 in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Vestcor Inc bought a new position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $625,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ATR. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 312.0% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp bought a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the 4th quarter worth $67,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATR opened at $146.81 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56. AptarGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $135.96 and a twelve month high of $178.03. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $151.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $159.04.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last announced its quarterly 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 analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders 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 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is 32.49%.

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.