AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Price Target Raised to $185.00 at Robert W. Baird

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) had its price objective increased by Robert W. Baird from $170.00 to $185.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on ATR. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note 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 stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.00.

AptarGroup Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of ATR stock opened at $167.94 on Monday. AptarGroup has a fifty-two week low of $121.61 and a fifty-two week high of $171.41. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $158.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $149.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a PE ratio of 33.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.58.

AptarGroup announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 10th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. 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 payout ratio is 36.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 800 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.56, for a total transaction of $117,248.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 20,174 shares in the company, valued at $2,956,701.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related 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 transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Gael Touya sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.62, for a total value of $500,346.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,165 shares in the company, valued at $4,876,857.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,457 shares of company stock valued at $7,680,110 over the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AptarGroup

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. boosted 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 last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in AptarGroup by 1.9% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 953,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $152,813,000 after acquiring an additional 17,975 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in AptarGroup by 35.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 805,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $113,395,000 after acquiring an additional 212,886 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position 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 worth $100,917,000 after acquiring an additional 64,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new position in shares of AptarGroup in the 3rd quarter worth about $108,239,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

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.