AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Holdings Raised by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,709 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,390 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in AptarGroup were worth $4,352,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ATR. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in 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 last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in AptarGroup by 13.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,146 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of AptarGroup in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $858,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 703,308 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $110,490,000 after buying an additional 27,614 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATR traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $157.85. The company's stock had a trading volume of 185,430 shares, compared to its average volume of 305,942. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.38. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.85 and a 1-year high of $178.03. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $147.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.15. The firm has a market cap of $10.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.49, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.58.

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

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. AptarGroup's payout ratio is 32.85%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Hedi Tlili sold 3,614 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.96, for a total transaction of $563,639.44. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,462,748.84. The trade was a 27.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 11,329 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.39, for a total value of $1,726,426.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 204,986 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,237,816.54. This trade represents a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,709 shares of company stock valued at $5,129,410. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $170.00 price target (up from $162.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price objective on AptarGroup from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AptarGroup currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $178.60.

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.