Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 340,600 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. $ATR

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its AptarGroup stake by 71.1% in the fourth quarter, selling 340,600 shares and ending with 138,230 shares valued at about $16.9 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but broadly positive: AptarGroup has a Moderate Buy consensus rating, with an average price target of $173.25 after recent updates from several firms.
• The company recently beat quarterly expectations, reported Q1 earnings of $1.19 per share on $982.87 million in revenue, and also announced a quarterly dividend plus a $600 million share buyback program.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 71.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 138,230 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 340,600 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.21% of AptarGroup worth $16,859,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 254,024 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,981,000 after buying an additional 37,217 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 14,068 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,716,000 after buying an additional 717 shares during the period. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the fourth quarter valued at about $284,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 30,035.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 136,211 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $15,220,000 after buying an additional 135,759 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,948 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 147 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $156.00 target price on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AptarGroup has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $173.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AptarGroup news, EVP Irene Elizabeth Hudson sold 1,264 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.43, for a total transaction of $156,015.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 1,480 shares in the company, valued at $182,676.40. This trade represents a 46.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AptarGroup Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of ATR opened at $115.10 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $7.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $103.23 and a 12 month high of $164.28. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $125.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.79.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $982.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $955.95 million. AptarGroup had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. AptarGroup has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.320-1.400 EPS. Equities analysts predict that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.88%.

AptarGroup announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, February 5th that allows the company to buyback $600.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 7.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

AptarGroup Company Profile

AptarGroup, Inc is a global provider of advanced dispensing, sealing and protection solutions for consumer and pharmaceutical markets. The company designs and manufactures a broad portfolio of products that enable the controlled delivery of liquids, gels, powders and aerosols. Its customer base spans beauty and personal care, home care, food and beverage, and pharmaceutical sectors, where innovation in packaging and drug‐delivery devices drives brand differentiation and regulatory compliance.

In the consumer markets, AptarGroup offers pumps, actuators, valves, closures and specialized bottles engineered for precision, convenience and sustainability.

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