AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Shares Sold by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC reduced its stake in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 35.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 33,600 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $9,662,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ATR. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of AptarGroup by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,207,015 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,132,222,000 after buying an additional 58,777 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in AptarGroup by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,481,563 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $389,854,000 after purchasing an additional 617,365 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in AptarGroup by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,555,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $248,570,000 after purchasing an additional 40,268 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in AptarGroup by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,208,753 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $189,895,000 after purchasing an additional 50,651 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in AptarGroup during the 4th quarter valued at $116,265,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

AptarGroup stock opened at $145.41 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.38 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.59. AptarGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.85 and a fifty-two week high of $178.03. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.38.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.24. AptarGroup had a net margin of 10.45% and a return on equity of 15.56%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on AptarGroup from $180.00 to $170.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 10th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (down previously from $200.00) on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America cut shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.60.

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.