Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $100.92 Million Stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 9.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 716,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 64,288 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 1.08% of AptarGroup worth $100,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 9.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 58,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,222,000 after acquiring an additional 5,110 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted 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 worth $13,482,000 after purchasing an additional 5,295 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 16,572 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,049,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in shares of AptarGroup by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 26,031 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,218,000 after purchasing an additional 3,940 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its position in shares of AptarGroup by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 29,932 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,201 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

AptarGroup Stock Performance

ATR opened at $156.58 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $148.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.60. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.36 and a 1 year high of $158.80. The company has a market capitalization of $10.38 billion, a PE ratio of 33.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.57.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.01. AptarGroup had a net margin of 9.00% and a return on equity of 15.13%. The company had revenue of $910.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $930.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. AptarGroup’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

AptarGroup Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 25th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 25th. This is a boost from AptarGroup’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.