EULAV Asset Management Has $36.77 Million Stock Holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

EULAV Asset Management lifted its position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 26.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 229,526 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 48,399 shares during the period. EULAV Asset Management owned approximately 0.34% of AptarGroup worth $36,768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 17,607 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,583 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 167.2% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 6,690 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $957,000 after buying an additional 4,186 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the second quarter valued at $2,735,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 35.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 805,301 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $113,395,000 after buying an additional 212,886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 2.0% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 646,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $91,092,000 after buying an additional 12,533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ATR shares. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Dbs Bank raised AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $195.00.

Insider Activity at AptarGroup

In other news, CFO Robert Kuhn sold 200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total value of $30,036.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,844,599.36. This represents a 0.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Shiela Vinczeller sold 1,660 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.15, for a total value of $250,909.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,423,698.65. This represents a 6.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,499 shares of company stock worth $6,393,076 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATR traded up $1.71 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $168.61. 221,802 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 292,595. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.29 and a 1-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 stock has a market capitalization of $11.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.51, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.57. The company's 50-day moving average price is $163.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.60.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 24th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. AptarGroup's dividend payout ratio is 36.14%.

AptarGroup announced that its board has approved a share 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 repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.