Sepio Capital LP Reduces Stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Sepio Capital LP lowered its position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 10.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,199 shares during the period. Sepio Capital LP’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $1,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ATR. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 0.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,146,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $893,565,000 after acquiring an additional 53,625 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 10.0% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,608,460 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $576,242,000 after acquiring an additional 420,457 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 1,438,442 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $177,820,000 after acquiring an additional 21,545 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 19.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,371,141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $171,447,000 after acquiring an additional 225,296 shares during the period. Finally, London Co. of Virginia lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 0.9% in the third quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 1,046,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $130,815,000 after acquiring an additional 8,851 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of ATR stock traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $148.09. 162,320 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 297,637. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $9.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $143.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.34. AptarGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $111.63 and a fifty-two week high of $151.73.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.13. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.06% and a net margin of 8.83%. The firm had revenue of $915.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $897.40 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 25th were paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 24th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. William Blair raised AptarGroup from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on AptarGroup from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on AptarGroup from $160.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th.

Insider Activity at AptarGroup

In related news, insider Gael Touya sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.84, for a total value of $499,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,426 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,774,569.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other AptarGroup news, insider Gael Touya sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $142.84, for a total value of $499,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,426 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,774,569.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 32,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.67, for a total value of $4,533,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 159,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,528,930.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 45,334 shares of company stock valued at $6,467,171. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About AptarGroup

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.