Jane Street Group LLC Acquires 15,036 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 144.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,479 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,036 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC's holdings in AptarGroup were worth $4,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATR. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in AptarGroup by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,268,000 after acquiring an additional 5,248 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 282.9% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,800 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,068,000 after buying an additional 5,024 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position 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 valued at $1,494,000 after buying an additional 1,146 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in AptarGroup by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 9,418 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,480,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 69,670 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $11,648,000 after purchasing an additional 15,244 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company's stock.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

AptarGroup stock traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $152.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 350,071 shares, compared to its average volume of 304,769. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $10.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.57, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.58. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.85 and a 1-year high of $178.03. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $147.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.53.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $887.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $894.26 million. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio is 32.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Shiela Vinczeller sold 995 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.42, for a total value of $151,657.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,008,798.42. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 17,771 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,687,686.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 204,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,002,082.64. The trade was a 7.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,095 shares of company stock worth $4,565,770 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $170.00 target price (up previously from $162.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $178.60.

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.