Cerity Partners LLC Has $3.73 Million Holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,257 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,184 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in AptarGroup were worth $3,726,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in AptarGroup in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 446.5% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new position in AptarGroup in the 2nd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in AptarGroup by 4,983.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company's stock.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

ATR traded up $1.23 on Friday, hitting $172.96. 117,313 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 289,936. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $166.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $153.79. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.29 and a 52 week high of $178.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.51 billion, a PE ratio of 34.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.57.

AptarGroup announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign 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. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. AptarGroup's payout ratio is 36.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Gael Touya sold 3,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.62, for a total value of $500,346.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,876,857.30. This represents a 9.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Hedi Tlili sold 1,375 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.54, for a total transaction of $209,742.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,379 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,430,672.66. This represents a 12.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders 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 owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of 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 increased their target price for the company from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research note 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 objective on shares of AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AptarGroup presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $195.00.

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.