Raymond James Begins Coverage on AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR)

Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) in a research note released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $200.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on ATR. Bank of America downgraded AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $190.60.

AptarGroup Price Performance

AptarGroup stock opened at $153.15 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $167.20 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.91. The firm has a market cap of $10.19 billion, a PE ratio of 30.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.15. AptarGroup has a one year low of $122.37 and a one year high of $178.03.

AptarGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.18%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.83, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,530,412.80. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ATR. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in AptarGroup by 446.5% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 312.0% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 79.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 598 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.