William Blair Investment Management LLC Sells 11,375 Shares of Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR)

William Blair Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 375,159 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,375 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Atkore were worth $71,415,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Atkore in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Atkore in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. LifeSteps Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Atkore in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Atkore by 405.1% in the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Atkore in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000.

Atkore Stock Performance

Shares of Atkore stock traded down $7.57 on Wednesday, hitting $145.00. The stock had a trading volume of 512,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 515,891. Atkore Inc. has a twelve month low of $121.00 and a twelve month high of $194.98. The business’s 50 day moving average is $143.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 3.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $5.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.04 and a beta of 2.15.

Atkore (NYSE:ATKR) last posted its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The company reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.22 by $0.86. Atkore had a return on equity of 43.19% and a net margin of 18.30%. The company had revenue of $792.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $808.22 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Atkore Inc. will post 14.93 EPS for the current year.

Atkore Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 20th. Atkore’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Mark F. Lamps sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.67, for a total transaction of $78,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 28,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,154.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Mark F. Lamps sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.67, for a total transaction of $78,835.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 28,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,507,154.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Wilbert W. James, Jr. sold 599 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.23, for a total value of $91,784.77. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 15,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,404,944.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ATKR. KeyCorp began coverage on Atkore in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $175.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Atkore from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Atkore from $200.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $187.00 target price on shares of Atkore in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.00.

Atkore Profile

Atkore Inc engages in the manufacture and sale of electrical, mechanical, safety, and infrastructure products and solutions in the United States and internationally. The company offers conduits, cables, and installation accessories. It also designs and manufactures protection and reliability solutions for critical infrastructure, such as metal framing, mechanical pipe, perimeter security, and cable management.