D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Trims Holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 83.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,672 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 19,142 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $577,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of AptarGroup in the 4th quarter worth $116,265,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in AptarGroup by 33.1% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,481,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $389,854,000 after purchasing an additional 617,365 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 297.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 473,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $74,312,000 after buying an additional 353,935 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the fourth quarter valued at about $22,925,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the 4th quarter valued at about $21,941,000. 88.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AptarGroup Trading Down 0.3%

ATR opened at $156.17 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $148.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.95. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.85 and a 12 month high of $178.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.19, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.58.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.04. AptarGroup had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.56%. The business had revenue of $887.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $894.26 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 1st were 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 was Thursday, May 1st. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ATR. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $170.00 price objective (up from $162.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Raymond James dropped their price target on AptarGroup from $190.00 to $175.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $178.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AptarGroup news, insider Shiela Vinczeller sold 995 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now directly owns 26,301 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,008,798.42. This trade represents a 3.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 11,329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 5th. The shares were 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 owns 204,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,237,816.54. The trade was a 5.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 40,709 shares of company stock worth $6,224,840. Corporate insiders own 0.68% of the company’s stock.

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.