Magnetar Financial LLC Sells 10,873 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Magnetar Financial LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 32.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 22,996 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,873 shares during the quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $3,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AptarGroup during the 4th quarter worth $89,855,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 93.1% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 295,820 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,569,000 after acquiring an additional 142,623 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 369.7% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 156,472 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $22,515,000 after acquiring an additional 123,161 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its stake in AptarGroup by 3,141.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 109,983 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,596,000 after acquiring an additional 106,590 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in AptarGroup by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 587,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,644,000 after acquiring an additional 96,227 shares in the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AptarGroup

In other news, insider Marc Prieur sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.92, for a total transaction of $476,544.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,616 shares in the company, valued at $2,474,454.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 825 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.77, for a total value of $121,085.25. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,812 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,293,337.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Marc Prieur sold 3,200 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.92, for a total value of $476,544.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,616 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,474,454.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,659 shares of company stock worth $1,269,976. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ATR. William Blair upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $163.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on AptarGroup from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th.

AptarGroup Stock Up 3.7 %

Shares of ATR stock traded up $5.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $146.66. 562,787 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 259,725. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.74 and a 52-week high of $151.73. The stock has a market cap of $9.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $145.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $141.21.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $910.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $930.15 million. AptarGroup had a net margin of 9.00% and a return on equity of 15.31%. AptarGroup’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.35 EPS for the current year.

AptarGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 25th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from AptarGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 25th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.63%.

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.