Townsquare Capital LLC Makes New Investment in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 15,297 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,403,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in AptarGroup during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of AptarGroup in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank raised its stake in AptarGroup by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 462 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 310.4% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

Shares of ATR opened at $144.04 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.50 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.59. 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 50-day moving average price of $145.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.47. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.85 and a 52-week high of $178.03.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last posted 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 net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.56%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 target price (down from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target 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. Two investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.