AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Rating Lowered to Neutral at Bank of America

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) was downgraded by analysts at Bank of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They presently have a $173.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price would indicate a potential upside of 11.25% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Dbs Bank upgraded AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AptarGroup currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $189.50.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

NYSE:ATR opened at $155.50 on Monday. AptarGroup has a 1-year low of $122.37 and a 1-year high of $178.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $167.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.79. The firm has a market cap of $10.35 billion, a PE ratio of 31.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.59. 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 declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 10th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AptarGroup news, 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,324,977.84. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 174,118 shares in the company, valued at $29,530,412.80. This trade 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AptarGroup

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 67.6% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 21,554 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,386,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 69,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,648,000 after buying an additional 15,244 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in AptarGroup by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,492 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,962,000 after buying an additional 2,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in AptarGroup in the third quarter valued at $126,000. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.