Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $2.79 Million Stock Position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 19.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,745 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,857 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $2,788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in AptarGroup in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ATR. StockNews.com lowered AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reissued 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. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.60.

AptarGroup Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of ATR opened at $146.81 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $151.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.98. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.96 and a 52-week high of $178.03. The company 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 data on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share (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 predict that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is currently 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.