Park Avenue Securities LLC Buys 2,304 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 174.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,628 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,304 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake 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 valued at $100,917,000 after acquiring an additional 64,288 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL increased its holdings in AptarGroup by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 4,165 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $586,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in AptarGroup by 20.3% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 17,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,915 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 4.0% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 98,934 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,931,000 after purchasing an additional 3,826 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 43.9% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 35,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,038,000 after purchasing an additional 10,921 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE ATR opened at $159.10 on Thursday. AptarGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $128.05 and a one year high of $178.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.59.

AptarGroup declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 10th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire 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.

Insider Transactions at AptarGroup

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ATR shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price 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. Raymond James started coverage on AptarGroup in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $190.60.

AptarGroup 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.