AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Shares Acquired by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank boosted its holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 3.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Commerce Bank’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $376,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATR. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 7.7% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,158,102 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $185,516,000 after purchasing an additional 82,934 shares in the last quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL raised its position in shares of AptarGroup by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL now owns 3,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in AptarGroup by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 113,503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,182,000 after buying an additional 34,573 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in AptarGroup by 19.4% during the 3rd 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. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc raised 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 worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at AptarGroup

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 value of $5,088,000.00. Following 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 14.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.83, for a total value of $162,752.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,324,977.84. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 35,639 shares of company stock worth $5,960,841. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Dbs Bank upgraded AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Four investment 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $195.00.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

NYSE ATR opened at $172.06 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $11.45 billion, a PE ratio of 34.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $165.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $153.36. AptarGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.29 and a twelve month high of $178.03.

AptarGroup announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 10th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 24th were issued 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 1.05%. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is 36.14%.

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.