Raymond James & Associates Sells 10,832 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Raymond James & Associates reduced its holdings in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 11.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 83,520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,832 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in AptarGroup were worth $13,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATR. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in AptarGroup by 281.0% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in AptarGroup by 446.5% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in AptarGroup in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 4,983.3% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Adirondack Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 25.0% in the second quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of AptarGroup stock opened at $168.91 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $11.19 billion, a PE ratio of 36.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $156.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.98. 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 12-month low of $120.36 and a 12-month high of $169.85.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last released its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $930.15 million. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.13% and a net margin of 9.00%. AptarGroup’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.36 EPS for the current year.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

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

AptarGroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ATR shares. Dbs Bank upgraded AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $155.00 to $215.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $190.00.

Insider Activity at AptarGroup

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

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.