AQR Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 7.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 184,752 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 15,249 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.28% of AptarGroup worth $29,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ATR. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in AptarGroup during the 4th quarter worth $67,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in AptarGroup by 328.4% in 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 position in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter valued at $75,000. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 11,329 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.39, for a total transaction of $1,726,426.31. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 204,986 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,237,816.54. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Shiela Vinczeller sold 995 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.42, for a total transaction of $151,657.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 26,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,008,798.42. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,095 shares of company stock valued at $4,565,770. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on ATR shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $170.00 target price (up previously from $162.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.60.

AptarGroup Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE ATR traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $153.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 83,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 302,660. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.95. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.85 and a 52 week high of $178.03. The stock has a market cap of $10.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $146.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.88.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.04. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. The business had revenue of $887.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $894.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.85%.

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.