Bridges Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 213,473 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 1,755 shares during the quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.32% of AptarGroup worth $31,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 10,981 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,725,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC grew its position in AptarGroup by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 9,690 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its position in AptarGroup by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,818 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of AptarGroup by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 462 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company's stock.

AptarGroup Price Performance

NYSE:ATR traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $157.87. The stock had a trading volume of 292,046 shares, compared to its average volume of 324,497. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $151.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.85. AptarGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $130.85 and a one year high of $178.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.57.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.04. AptarGroup had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The firm had revenue of $887.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $894.26 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.26 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. AptarGroup's payout ratio is 32.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up from $162.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $178.60.

Insider Transactions at AptarGroup

In other AptarGroup news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.49, for a total value of $1,095,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,606,369.85. This trade represents a 40.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Hedi Tlili sold 3,614 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 9,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,462,748.84. The trade was a 27.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 45,680 shares of company stock worth $6,983,798. 0.68% of the stock is 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.