Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 10,855 AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,855 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,705,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 4,906 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 961 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,551 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $401,000 after buying an additional 891 shares during the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 288.5% during the fourth quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,934 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $775,000 after buying an additional 3,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody Aldrich Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter valued at $299,000. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at AptarGroup

In related news, insider Hedi Tlili sold 3,614 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.96, for a total transaction of $563,639.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,379 shares in the company, valued at $1,462,748.84. This represents a 27.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.49, for a total transaction of $1,095,430.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,606,369.85. This trade represents a 40.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,709 shares of company stock valued at $6,224,840 in the last ninety days. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of ATR stock traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $158.43. 335,104 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 308,116. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $149.53 and a 200 day moving average of $154.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.85 and a 52-week high of $178.03. The company has a market cap of $10.46 billion, a PE ratio of 28.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.58.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.04. AptarGroup had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.56%. The business had revenue of $887.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $894.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research 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 was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 1st. AptarGroup's payout ratio is currently 32.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $170.00 price target (up from $162.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat, AptarGroup has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $178.60.

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.