Hantz Financial Services Inc. Takes Position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,176 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,310,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in AptarGroup by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,977 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,315 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $531,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,361 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $332,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 1,685 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Dbs Bank raised AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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 raised AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $155.00 to $215.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AptarGroup presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $195.00.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

AptarGroup stock traded down $0.18 during trading on Monday, reaching $172.78. The company had a trading volume of 170,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 289,423. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.29 and a 52 week high of $178.03. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $167.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.14%.

AptarGroup declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 10th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at AptarGroup

In other news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.83, for a total transaction of $162,752.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,324,977.84. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 174,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,530,412.80. The trade was a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,639 shares of company stock valued at $5,960,841 over the last ninety days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.