Handelsbanken Fonder AB Increases Holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 11.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 598,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 60,000 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.90% of AptarGroup worth $94,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 13.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $623,000 after buying an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in shares of AptarGroup by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 131,875 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,125,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 266.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 639 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Elevated Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in AptarGroup in the 3rd quarter worth $313,000. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on ATR shares. Bank of America lowered AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. StockNews.com cut shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, 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. Two research 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. According to MarketBeat, AptarGroup has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.60.

AptarGroup Stock Up 0.2 %

ATR opened at $147.13 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.78 billion, a PE ratio of 26.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.78 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.86. 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.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is 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.