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

Polar Capital Holdings Plc cut its holdings in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 29.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,930 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 40,277 shares during the quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc owned 0.15% of AptarGroup worth $15,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Park Place Capital Corp acquired a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter worth $67,000. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted 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 purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in AptarGroup in the fourth quarter valued at $75,000. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AptarGroup

In other AptarGroup news, insider Hedi Tlili sold 3,614 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.96, for a total transaction of $563,639.44. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 9,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,462,748.84. This represents a 27.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 11,329 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.39, for a total transaction of $1,726,426.31. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 204,986 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,237,816.54. This represents a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,709 shares of company stock valued at $5,129,410. Insiders own 0.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $170.00 target price (up from $162.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AptarGroup presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $178.60.

AptarGroup Price Performance

AptarGroup stock traded down $1.53 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $157.00. 69,254 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 305,926. The company's fifty day moving average is $147.84 and its 200-day moving average is $155.10. 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 firm has a market cap of $10.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.35, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.58. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.85 and a 52 week high of $178.03.

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

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.85%.

AptarGroup Company 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.