Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Decreases Stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,282 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,095 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $4,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its position in AptarGroup by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,864,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $298,626,000 after acquiring an additional 214,097 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $22,925,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in AptarGroup in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $21,941,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in AptarGroup by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,515,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $245,444,000 after buying an additional 83,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in AptarGroup by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 598,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $94,076,000 after buying an additional 60,000 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AptarGroup Trading Down 0.7 %

ATR stock opened at $147.01 on Wednesday. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.96 and a 52-week high of $178.03. 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 cap of $9.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.54, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $150.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.78.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last issued 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 return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.22%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ATR shares. Bank of America lowered shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AptarGroup currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.60.

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.