HighTower Advisors LLC Decreases Holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

HighTower Advisors LLC lowered its position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 662 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $1,836,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ATR. Ascent Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at $349,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in AptarGroup during the third quarter valued at about $5,104,000. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 36.0% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 30,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,808,000 after buying an additional 7,939 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,570 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $732,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its holdings in AptarGroup by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 115,329 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,475,000 after acquiring an additional 4,240 shares during the period. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

Shares of ATR stock opened at $170.20 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $169.33 and a 200 day moving average of $155.49. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.29 and a 52 week high of $178.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

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

AptarGroup announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program 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 repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 research note on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Dbs Bank raised shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $195.00.

Insider Activity at AptarGroup

In other AptarGroup news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 174,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,530,412.80. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 7,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,324,977.84. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.