MQS Management LLC Invests $366,000 in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,464 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $366,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in AptarGroup by 155.0% in the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 278 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 35.1% in the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 462 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the 4th quarter worth about $75,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of AptarGroup by 310.4% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 591 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AptarGroup news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,606,369.85. The trade was a 40.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 1,671 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.79, for a total value of $255,312.09. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,694,135.52. This represents a 13.10% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,680 shares of company stock valued at $6,983,798. 0.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

AptarGroup Trading Up 0.1%

ATR traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $156.12. The stock had a trading volume of 102,915 shares, compared to its average volume of 324,131. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.57. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.85 and a 52 week high of $178.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.25. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $155.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.42.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.04. AptarGroup had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The company had revenue of $887.31 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $894.26 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 24th. AptarGroup's payout ratio is presently 32.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ATR shares. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $170.00 price objective (up previously from $162.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, AptarGroup currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $180.00.

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.