Vestcor Inc Makes New Investment in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Vestcor Inc bought a new position in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 3,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $625,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in AptarGroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in AptarGroup by 312.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp bought a new stake in AptarGroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in AptarGroup by 328.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in AptarGroup by 310.4% during 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 during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AptarGroup Stock Up 1.4 %

AptarGroup stock 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. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $135.96 and a 12-month high of $178.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $151.14 and its 200 day moving average is $159.04. The company has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.56%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is 32.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ATR. Bank of America downgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price target (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AptarGroup 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.