Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Raises Stock Holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,485 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,440 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned 0.06% of AptarGroup worth $6,806,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ATR. CWM LLC boosted its position in AptarGroup by 79.1% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,073 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $151,000 after buying an additional 474 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 2.8% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 8,666 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,220,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 281.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 240 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new position in AptarGroup during the 2nd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its position in AptarGroup by 71.8% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 94,352 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $13,286,000 after purchasing an additional 39,426 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AptarGroup Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of ATR stock traded down $1.44 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $170.20. 153,215 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 287,437. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.62. AptarGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.29 and a fifty-two week high of $178.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.49. The firm has a market cap of $11.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58.

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

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 24th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.60, for a total transaction of $5,088,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.83, for a total value of $162,752.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,324,977.84. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.