Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 66,929 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 30.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 153,716 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 66,929 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $24,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 111.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,075,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $151,394,000 after purchasing an additional 565,511 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake 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 valued at $152,813,000 after purchasing an additional 17,975 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 35.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 805,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $113,395,000 after purchasing an additional 212,886 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 9.9% in 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 period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $108,239,000. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ATR shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $195.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AptarGroup news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 7,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.52, for a total transaction of $1,054,944.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,900,950.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.52, for a total value of $1,054,944.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,900,950.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Kuhn sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total value of $30,036.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,844,599.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,735 shares of company stock valued at $7,285,268. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AptarGroup Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:ATR opened at $175.67 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $161.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.52. 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 company has a market cap of $11.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.57.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 36.14%.

AptarGroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.