Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 243 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 2.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,909 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $1,427,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in AptarGroup by 111.0% in the second quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,075,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $151,394,000 after purchasing an additional 565,511 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 182.1% during the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 538,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $86,315,000 after acquiring an additional 347,800 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in AptarGroup by 35.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 805,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $113,395,000 after acquiring an additional 212,886 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in AptarGroup by 36.2% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 519,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $73,179,000 after purchasing an additional 138,134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA bought a new stake in AptarGroup during the second quarter worth $17,263,000. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on ATR. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $195.00.

AptarGroup Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:ATR opened at $168.26 on Tuesday. AptarGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $122.29 and a one year high of $171.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $11.20 billion, a PE ratio of 33.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $159.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $150.33.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 36.14%.

AptarGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 10th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at AptarGroup

In other AptarGroup news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.60, for a total transaction of $5,088,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,530,412.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.60, for a total transaction of $5,088,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,118 shares in the company, valued at $29,530,412.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.56, for a total transaction of $117,248.00. Following the sale, 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 sold 47,457 shares of company stock worth $7,680,110 over the last three months. Company 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.