AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Short Interest Update

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 474,600 shares, a decline of 7.0% from the August 15th total of 510,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 264,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on AptarGroup from $163.00 to $168.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th.

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATR opened at $152.97 on Thursday. AptarGroup has a 1 year low of $120.36 and a 1 year high of $155.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.57. The company’s 50-day moving average is $147.81 and its 200 day moving average is $145.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.01. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.13% and a net margin of 9.00%. The firm had revenue of $910.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $930.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AptarGroup will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

AptarGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 25th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 25th. This is an increase from AptarGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Hedi Tlili sold 1,375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.54, for a total transaction of $209,742.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,430,672.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 32,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.56, for a total transaction of $4,721,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,692,852.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hedi Tlili sold 1,375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.54, for a total value of $209,742.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,379 shares in the company, valued at $1,430,672.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 49,457 shares of company stock valued at $7,314,030. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ATR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 666,510 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,398,000 after purchasing an additional 8,534 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in AptarGroup by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 5,017 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $620,000 after buying an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in AptarGroup during the fourth quarter valued at $89,855,000. UBS Group AG boosted its holdings in AptarGroup by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 58,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,222,000 after acquiring an additional 5,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $480,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.