Mackenzie Financial Corp Acquires 54,804 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp significantly increased its stake in AptarGroup, Inc. by 284.5%, acquiring an additional 54,804 shares during the first quarter, bringing their total to 74,064 shares valued at approximately $10.99 million.
• Multiple hedge funds, including LPL Financial and TD Asset Management, also boosted their holdings in AptarGroup, indicating strong institutional interest with 88.52% of the stock owned by these investors.
• AptarGroup reported better-than-expected earnings of $1.66 per share for the most recent quarter, with revenue rising to $966.01 million, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share scheduled for August 14th.

Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 284.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 74,064 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 54,804 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned 0.11% of AptarGroup worth $10,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATR. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 9,513 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,494,000 after buying an additional 1,146 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in AptarGroup by 172.7% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 11,961 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,880,000 after purchasing an additional 7,575 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of AptarGroup by 116.9% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 603 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,819 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 119,687 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $18,803,000 after purchasing an additional 16,949 shares during the period. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $173.00 to $153.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on AptarGroup from $182.00 to $172.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $174.60.

Insider Transactions at AptarGroup

In other news, insider Hedi Tlili sold 3,614 shares of AptarGroup 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Gael Touya sold 3,300 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the insider owned 33,963 shares in the company, valued at $5,183,433.06. The trade was a 8.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,351 shares of company stock worth $5,257,371. Company insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

AptarGroup Price Performance

ATR stock traded up $1.34 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $140.47. 234,481 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 372,386. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $155.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $151.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.08. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.39% and a net margin of 10.84%. The company had revenue of $966.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $954.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio is presently 30.98%.

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.