Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 164 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC cut its holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 164 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at $108,239,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in AptarGroup by 29.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,106,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $337,502,000 after buying an additional 479,193 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 13.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,864,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $298,626,000 after buying an additional 214,097 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 88.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 230,775 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,968,000 after acquiring an additional 108,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,515,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $245,444,000 after acquiring an additional 83,452 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AptarGroup Stock Down 8.4 %

Shares of ATR opened at $143.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.88. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $131.51 and a 52 week high of $178.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.59.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The industrial products company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.24. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 14.92% and a net margin of 9.40%. On average, equities research analysts expect that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is currently 36.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on ATR. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of AptarGroup in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AptarGroup presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $190.60.

Insider Activity at AptarGroup

In related news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.83, for a total transaction of $162,752.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,324,977.84. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AptarGroup 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.