Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 269 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 415,852 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 269 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.62% of AptarGroup worth $66,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ATR. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in AptarGroup by 29.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,106,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $337,502,000 after acquiring an additional 479,193 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 7.7% in the 3rd 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. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 953,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $152,813,000 after purchasing an additional 17,975 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of AptarGroup by 35.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 805,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $113,395,000 after purchasing an additional 212,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 716,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $100,917,000 after purchasing an additional 64,288 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ATR. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Dbs Bank raised AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 stock 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AptarGroup has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $195.00.

AptarGroup Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE ATR opened at $171.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.57. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.29 and a 52 week high of $178.03. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $166.40 and a 200-day moving average of $153.62.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.14%.

AptarGroup declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 reacquire 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, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.83, for a total value of $162,752.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,324,977.84. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.60, for a total value of $5,088,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 174,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,530,412.80. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 35,639 shares of company stock worth $5,960,841. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.