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

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,208,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 50,651 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $189,895,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ATR. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 650 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in AptarGroup by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 16,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,621,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its stake in AptarGroup by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,906,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,079 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATR opened at $146.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $149.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.76 billion, a PE ratio of 26.50, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

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

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 32.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com lowered shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America lowered AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.60.

About AptarGroup

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.