HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 5.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 662 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $1,836,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in AptarGroup by 281.0% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in AptarGroup in the second quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 312.0% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AptarGroup

In related news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.83, for a total transaction of $162,752.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,324,977.84. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,530,412.80. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

ATR stock opened at $170.20 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.29 and a 1 year high of $178.03. The company has a market cap of $11.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $169.33 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.49.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.06%. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is 36.14%.

AptarGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan 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 plans are often an indication 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.