Blue Trust Inc. Has $141,000 Holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 266.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 639 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in AptarGroup by 446.5% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of AptarGroup by 4,983.3% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Adirondack Trust Co. raised its position in shares of AptarGroup by 25.0% during the second quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of AptarGroup by 79.6% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 598 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.56, for a total transaction of $117,248.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,956,701.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Gael Touya sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.62, for a total transaction of $500,346.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,876,857.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.56, for a total value of $117,248.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,956,701.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,457 shares of company stock valued at $2,592,110 in the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AptarGroup Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE ATR opened at $168.91 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.25, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.58. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.98. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $120.36 and a 12 month high of $169.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.01. AptarGroup had a return on equity of 15.13% and a net margin of 9.00%. The business had revenue of $910.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $930.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. AptarGroup’s quarterly revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AptarGroup declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.63%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Dbs Bank raised AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, AptarGroup currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.00.

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.