JPMorgan Chase & Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its stake in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 23.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 644,830 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 193,880 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.97% of AptarGroup worth $103,295,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATR. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in AptarGroup by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 113,503 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $18,182,000 after purchasing an additional 34,573 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its position in AptarGroup by 43.9% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,202 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,066,000 after buying an additional 12,271 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AptarGroup by 5.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,515,288 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $245,444,000 after buying an additional 83,452 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in AptarGroup by 35.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 805,301 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $113,395,000 after acquiring an additional 212,886 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in AptarGroup by 29.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,106,885 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $337,502,000 after acquiring an additional 479,193 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. Dbs Bank upgraded AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $195.00.

Insider Activity

In other AptarGroup 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 value of $162,752.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,324,977.84. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 value of $5,088,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,530,412.80. The trade was a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

Shares of AptarGroup stock traded down $2.94 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $154.16. The company had a trading volume of 239,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 288,759. The firm has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a PE ratio of 30.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. AptarGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $122.37 and a one 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.66.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 24th. AptarGroup's payout ratio is presently 36.14%.

AptarGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 10th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board 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.