Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 78.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund 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 reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AptarGroup by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,028 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $162,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Utah Retirement Systems increased its stake in AptarGroup by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 10,981 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,725,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Nia Impact Advisors LLC now owns 9,690 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,522,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 0.5% during the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,760,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 1.3% during the first quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 7,818 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,160,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AptarGroup Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of ATR opened at $140.52 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $154.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $151.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20. The company has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.19, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.57. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.85 and a 52 week high of $178.03.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last issued 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. AptarGroup had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 15.39%. The business had revenue of $966.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $954.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $153.00 target price (down previously from $173.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Monday. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $172.00 price objective (down from $182.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $174.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 7,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, the insider directly owned 10,265 shares in the company, valued at $1,606,369.85. This trade represents a 40.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Hedi Tlili sold 3,614 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.96, for a total value of $563,639.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,462,748.84. The trade was a 27.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,585 shares of company stock valued at $2,418,028. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

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.

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