Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Purchases Shares of 32,587 AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH has acquired a new stake in AptarGroup, purchasing 32,587 shares valued at approximately $4.83 million.
• AptarGroup plans to distribute a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.12%.
• Insiders sold a total of 45,680 shares of AptarGroup stock over the last three months, valued at nearly $7 million.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 32,587 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $4,835,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 155.0% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 278 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 462 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $75,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the fourth quarter worth approximately $97,000. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AptarGroup

In related news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 7,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.49, for a total value of $1,095,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 10,265 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,606,369.85. This represents a 40.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through 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 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 $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 ninety days, insiders have sold 45,680 shares of company stock valued at $6,983,798. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

ATR stock traded down $0.61 during trading on Thursday, hitting $156.19. 154,137 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 362,009. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.85 and a 52 week high of $178.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $156.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.57.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.04. AptarGroup had a net margin of 10.41% and a return on equity of 15.10%. The firm had revenue of $887.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $894.26 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 24th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $175.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $170.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AptarGroup presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $180.60.

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.