Nuance Investments LLC Has $13.45 Million Position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Nuance Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 65.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 85,622 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 159,015 shares during the quarter. Nuance Investments LLC’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $13,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Park Place Capital Corp bought a new position in AptarGroup in the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased 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 valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 310.4% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in AptarGroup by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 650 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Price Performance

NYSE ATR opened at $147.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $9.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.54, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.96 and a 52-week high of $178.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $150.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $158.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.38.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 EPS 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 anticipate that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

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 (DPR) is currently 32.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ATR shares. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target (down from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America cut 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. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AptarGroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.60.

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.