AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Shares Sold by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its holdings in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 14.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 20,300 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.18% of AptarGroup worth $18,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $531,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Argent Trust Co lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 1,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 2,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at AptarGroup

In related news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,530,412.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other AptarGroup news, insider Hedi Tlili sold 1,375 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.54, for a total transaction of $209,742.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,379 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,430,672.66. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,118 shares in the company, valued at $29,530,412.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,457 shares of company stock valued at $7,680,110 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE ATR opened at $168.26 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $159.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $150.33. The company has a market capitalization of $11.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.57. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.29 and a 12 month high of $171.41.

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

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 24th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 24th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.