AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Position Lessened by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. decreased its stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 83.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,672 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 19,142 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.'s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Concentric Capital Strategies LP purchased a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the fourth quarter worth about $6,127,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 102.4% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,117 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 1,577 shares during the period. BOKF NA boosted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 177,225.0% in the fourth quarter. BOKF NA now owns 7,093 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,088,000 after buying an additional 7,089 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in AptarGroup by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,691 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $737,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in AptarGroup by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,821 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,271,000 after purchasing an additional 1,602 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.52% of the company's stock.

AptarGroup Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE ATR traded down $0.70 on Wednesday, hitting $157.46. 364,440 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 308,322. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $148.85 and a 200 day moving average of $154.55. AptarGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.85 and a twelve month high of $178.03. The company has a market capitalization of $10.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.58. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.04. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. The firm had revenue of $887.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $894.26 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. AptarGroup's revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect 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 was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 1st. AptarGroup's payout ratio is 32.85%.

Insider Transactions at AptarGroup

In other AptarGroup news, insider Hedi Tlili sold 3,614 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The stock was 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 directly owns 9,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,462,748.84. This trade represents a 27.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 17,771 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,687,686.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 204,986 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,002,082.64. The trade was a 7.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,709 shares of company stock worth $6,224,840. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James reduced their price target on AptarGroup from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $170.00 price target (up previously from $162.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $178.60.

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.