Polar Capital Holdings Plc Sells 40,277 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Polar Capital Holdings Plc reduced its position in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 29.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 96,930 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 40,277 shares during the period. Polar Capital Holdings Plc owned 0.15% of AptarGroup worth $15,228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATR. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in AptarGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new stake in AptarGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $67,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in AptarGroup by 328.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 437 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in AptarGroup during the fourth quarter worth about $75,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.52% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at AptarGroup

In other AptarGroup news, insider Shiela Vinczeller sold 995 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $4,008,798.42. The trade was a 3.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 17,771 shares of AptarGroup 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 204,986 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 30,095 shares of company stock valued at $4,565,770. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ATR shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $170.00 target price (up previously from $162.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $178.60.

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATR opened at $154.99 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $147.14 and a 200 day moving average of $155.42. The stock has a market cap of $10.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.58. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.85 and a 12 month high of $178.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $887.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $894.26 million. AptarGroup had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.56%. AptarGroup's revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 1st. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.85%.

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.

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