Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Buys 50,651 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,208,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,651 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 1.82% of AptarGroup worth $189,895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ATR. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in 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 worth $21,125,000 after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in AptarGroup by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 36,229 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,804,000 after purchasing an additional 5,060 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in AptarGroup by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 23,257 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,726,000 after buying an additional 4,184 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in AptarGroup by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,864,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $298,626,000 after buying an additional 214,097 shares during the period. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 2.3% during the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 4,585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $734,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

NYSE ATR opened at $146.83 on Friday. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $135.96 and a 1-year high of $178.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $149.69 and a 200-day moving average of $158.66. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market cap of $9.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56.

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 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given 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 1.23%. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is 32.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America cut 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.