AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Shares Sold by Louisiana State Employees Retirement System

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 1.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $2,947,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $531,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in AptarGroup by 3.6% in the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Argent Trust Co lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 1,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. increased its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 2,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Dbs Bank upgraded AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AptarGroup has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $190.00.

Insider Transactions at AptarGroup

In related news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.56, for a total value of $117,248.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,174 shares in the company, valued at $2,956,701.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Robert Kuhn sold 200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total value of $30,036.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,844,599.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 800 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 20,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,956,701.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,457 shares of company stock worth $2,592,110. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Trading Up 1.4 %

ATR opened at $168.91 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $120.36 and a 52 week high of $169.85. The business’s 50 day moving average is $156.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.98. The firm has a market cap of $11.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.58.

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

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is 38.63%.

AptarGroup declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 10th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.