AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lowered its position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 32.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,693 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in AptarGroup were worth $1,905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in AptarGroup by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 650 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in AptarGroup by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 961 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in AptarGroup by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,028 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $162,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its holdings in AptarGroup by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 16,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,621,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in AptarGroup by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,906,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of AptarGroup stock opened at $157.11 on Friday. AptarGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.85 and a twelve month high of $178.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.36, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $147.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.24.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.04. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.56% and a net margin of 10.45%. The firm had revenue of $887.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $894.26 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 1st. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is currently 32.85%.

Insider Activity at AptarGroup

In other AptarGroup news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 17,771 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.24, for a total transaction of $2,687,686.04. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Shiela Vinczeller sold 995 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.42, for a total value of $151,657.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 26,301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,008,798.42. This represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,095 shares of company stock worth $4,565,770. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James lowered their target price on AptarGroup from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 10th. One 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, AptarGroup presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average 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.