Beck Bode LLC Makes New Investment in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Beck Bode LLC acquired a new stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 92,394 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $14,515,000. AptarGroup comprises approximately 2.7% of Beck Bode LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Beck Bode LLC owned 0.14% of AptarGroup at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased 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 worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in AptarGroup by 9.3% in the fourth 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 period. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,028 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 16,683 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,621,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,500 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,906,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.52% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $170.00 price target (up from $162.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Tuesday. 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. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.60.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

ATR stock traded up $0.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $153.66. The stock had a trading volume of 130,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 302,855. The stock's 50 day moving average is $146.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.88. The firm has a market cap of $10.14 billion, a PE ratio of 27.74, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.58. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.85 and a 52 week high of $178.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $887.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $894.26 million. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. AptarGroup's quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. AptarGroup's payout ratio is 32.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at AptarGroup

In other AptarGroup news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 11,329 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 204,986 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,237,816.54. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Shiela Vinczeller sold 995 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.42, for a total value of $151,657.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,008,798.42. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,095 shares of company stock valued at $4,565,770 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.