Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Makes New Investment in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 1,877 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of AptarGroup by 144.0% in the 4th quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 25,479 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,003,000 after buying an additional 15,036 shares in the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in AptarGroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $728,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in AptarGroup during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $424,000. Utah Retirement Systems lifted its stake in AptarGroup by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Utah Retirement Systems now owns 10,981 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,725,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,116,612 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $175,420,000 after purchasing an additional 108,321 shares in the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at AptarGroup

In other news, insider Shiela Vinczeller sold 995 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.42, for a total transaction of $151,657.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,301 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,008,798.42. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 17,771 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total value of $2,687,686.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 204,986 shares in the company, valued at $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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,709 shares of company stock worth $5,129,410. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

AptarGroup Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of AptarGroup stock traded down $2.30 on Wednesday, hitting $156.23. The company had a trading volume of 18,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 305,724. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.85 and a 1 year high of $178.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $147.84 and a 200-day moving average of $155.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.58.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $887.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $894.26 million. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.26 EPS. AptarGroup's quarterly revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. AptarGroup's payout ratio is 32.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report 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. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $170.00 price objective (up previously from $162.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AptarGroup presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target 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.