AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Short Interest Update

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 529,200 shares, an increase of 25.2% from the November 30th total of 422,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 282,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.60, for a total transaction of $5,088,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 174,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,530,412.80. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.83, for a total transaction of $162,752.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,324,977.84. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AptarGroup

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ATR. State Street Corp grew its holdings in AptarGroup by 0.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,889,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $462,919,000 after acquiring an additional 14,001 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,106,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $337,502,000 after purchasing an additional 479,193 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,864,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $298,626,000 after purchasing an additional 214,097 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,515,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $245,444,000 after purchasing an additional 83,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,158,102 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $185,516,000 after purchasing an additional 82,934 shares during the period. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AptarGroup Trading Down 0.9 %

AptarGroup stock opened at $156.73 on Tuesday. AptarGroup has a one year low of $122.29 and a one year high of $178.03. The stock has a market cap of $10.43 billion, a PE ratio of 31.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $168.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.58.

AptarGroup declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 10th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows 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 management believes its shares are undervalued.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 24th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.14%.

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.