Nuance Investments LLC Has $39.19 Million Holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Nuance Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 20.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 244,637 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 64,168 shares during the quarter. AptarGroup accounts for 1.3% of Nuance Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Nuance Investments LLC owned 0.37% of AptarGroup worth $39,188,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 17,607 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,532,000 after buying an additional 1,583 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $957,000 after purchasing an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,735,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 35.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 805,301 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $113,395,000 after purchasing an additional 212,886 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 646,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $91,092,000 after purchasing an additional 12,533 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company's stock.

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATR traded up $1.71 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $168.61. The company had a trading volume of 221,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 292,595. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $11.22 billion, a PE ratio of 33.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $163.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.60. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.29 and a 1-year high of $178.03.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

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

AptarGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 10th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Dbs Bank upgraded AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, AptarGroup presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $195.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AptarGroup news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.60, for a total value of $5,088,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,118 shares in the company, valued at $29,530,412.80. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert Kuhn sold 200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total transaction of $30,036.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,552 shares in the company, valued at $9,844,599.36. This represents a 0.30 % 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 in the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.