AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Shares Sold by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 129,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.19% of AptarGroup worth $20,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 3,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $586,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in AptarGroup by 43.8% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 113,503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,182,000 after buying an additional 34,573 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in AptarGroup by 19.4% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $330,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 3.6% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, ING Groep NV purchased a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the third quarter worth approximately $609,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

AptarGroup Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of AptarGroup stock opened at $170.13 on Friday. AptarGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $122.29 and a one year high of $178.03. The company has a market cap of $11.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.16, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.62. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $164.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $152.71.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 24th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.06%. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is currently 36.14%.

AptarGroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 10th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at AptarGroup

In other news, insider Shiela Vinczeller sold 1,660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.15, for a total value of $250,909.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 22,651 shares in the company, valued at $3,423,698.65. This trade represents a 6.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.83, for a total transaction of $162,752.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,324,977.84. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,299 shares of company stock valued at $6,363,040. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AptarGroup 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.