Pacer Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 20.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 2,915 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $2,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 17,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in AptarGroup by 167.2% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 6,690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $957,000 after buying an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in AptarGroup in the first quarter worth approximately $3,038,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in AptarGroup by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 109,060 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,482,000 after acquiring an additional 5,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 90.2% during the first quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 19,023 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,737,000 after acquiring an additional 9,021 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of ATR stock opened at $157.18 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $149.06 and a 200 day moving average of $145.68. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $120.36 and a 1-year high of $158.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.42 billion, a PE ratio of 33.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.57.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

AptarGroup Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 25th 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, July 25th. This is a positive change from AptarGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AptarGroup

In related news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.56, for a total value of $117,248.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,956,701.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other AptarGroup news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 32,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.56, for a total value of $4,721,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,692,852.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 800 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.56, for a total transaction of $117,248.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,956,701.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 49,457 shares of company stock worth $7,314,030. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.