Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 4,848 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 36,570 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,848 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.05% of AptarGroup worth $5,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 24.7% during the 1st quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 4,312 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $620,000 after purchasing an additional 853 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the 1st quarter worth about $215,000. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in AptarGroup by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 129,800 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $18,677,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC grew its stake in AptarGroup by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 43,225 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,219,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in AptarGroup by 167.2% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 6,690 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $957,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares during the period. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of ATR stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $175.60. The company had a trading volume of 168,389 shares, compared to its average volume of 291,462. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.57. AptarGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $122.29 and a one year high of $178.03. 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's 50-day moving average price is $162.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $151.75.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.14%.

AptarGroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 10th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ATR shares. Dbs Bank raised AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AptarGroup has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $195.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 7,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.52, for a total value of $1,054,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,900,950.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other AptarGroup news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 0.00 % 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 the SEC website. Also, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 7,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.52, for a total transaction of $1,054,944.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,900,950.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 44,735 shares of company stock worth $7,285,268. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.