Hilton Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Hilton Capital Management LLC raised its stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,076 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 394 shares during the quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $1,426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in AptarGroup by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 650 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its holdings in AptarGroup by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 16,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,621,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the period. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AptarGroup Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of AptarGroup stock opened at $144.69 on Friday. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $135.96 and a 52-week high of $178.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $151.32 and a 200 day moving average of $158.95. 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 company has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.56.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.24. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. As a group, research analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is 32.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on ATR. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of 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 downgraded AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped 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. StockNews.com cut shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.