AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Shares Sold by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. significantly reduced its stake in AptarGroup, selling 8,534 shares to hold a total of 2,321 shares, marking a 78.6% decrease in their position.
• AptarGroup recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, which translates to an annualized yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 30.98%.
• The stock price of AptarGroup rose by 0.3% to $140.91 during trading, with the company's earnings per share for the last quarter reported at $1.66, exceeding analysts' expectations.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 78.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,321 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 8,534 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ATR. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in AptarGroup by 172.7% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,961 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,880,000 after buying an additional 7,575 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in AptarGroup by 18.2% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,256 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $335,000 after buying an additional 348 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in AptarGroup by 116.9% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 603 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in AptarGroup by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,819 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,857,000 after buying an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC lifted its position in AptarGroup by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 119,687 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $18,803,000 after buying an additional 16,949 shares during the period. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AptarGroup Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of AptarGroup stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $140.07. The stock had a trading volume of 41,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 374,685. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $150.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.85 and a 1 year high of $178.03.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $966.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $954.06 million. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 10.84%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 24th. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.98%.

Insider Transactions at AptarGroup

In other news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 1,671 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.79, for a total value of $255,312.09. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,135.52. This trade represents a 13.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Gael Touya sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.62, for a total value of $503,646.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 33,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,183,433.06. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,585 shares of company stock valued at $2,418,028. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ATR shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $172.00 target price (down from $182.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $153.00 target price (down from $173.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.60.

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.