AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Short Interest Up 6.9% in September

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 507,500 shares, an increase of 6.9% from the August 31st total of 474,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 274,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Insider Activity at AptarGroup

In other news, insider Hedi Tlili sold 1,375 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 9,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,430,672.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Hedi Tlili sold 1,375 shares of AptarGroup 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 transaction, the insider now owns 9,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,430,672.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Monnas Giovanna Kampouri sold 1,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.43, for a total transaction of $277,594.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,616.77. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 49,457 shares of company stock valued at $7,314,030 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AptarGroup

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its holdings in AptarGroup by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co grew its holdings in AptarGroup by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 1,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its position in AptarGroup by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Delaney Dennis R lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 0.3% during the second quarter. Delaney Dennis R now owns 45,774 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,445,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 1.5% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,583,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of AptarGroup stock traded up $0.30 on Monday, hitting $160.19. 289,783 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 293,080. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $149.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $145.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. AptarGroup has a 12-month low of $120.36 and a 12-month high of $161.55. The company has a market cap of $10.61 billion, a PE ratio of 34.35, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.57.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.36 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $910.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $930.15 million. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.13% and a net margin of 9.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 25th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. This is an increase from AptarGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 25th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.