Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. Has $43.25 Million Position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its stake in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 270,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 55,000 shares during the quarter. AptarGroup makes up approximately 1.5% of Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc. owned about 0.41% of AptarGroup worth $43,251,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATR. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake 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 valued at $2,532,000 after buying an additional 1,583 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in AptarGroup by 167.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 6,690 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $957,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 90.2% during the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 19,023 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,737,000 after purchasing an additional 9,021 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 139.0% during the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 14,187 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,041,000 after purchasing an additional 8,251 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,735,000. 88.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other AptarGroup news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 32,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.56, for a total value of $4,721,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 174,118 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,692,852.08. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Hedi Tlili sold 1,375 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.54, for a total transaction of $209,742.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,379 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,430,672.66. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 32,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.56, for a total transaction of $4,721,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,692,852.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 49,457 shares of company stock valued at $7,314,030. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on ATR shares. Dbs Bank raised shares of AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $190.00.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

ATR traded up $2.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $168.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 518,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 292,642. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $148.92. The stock has a market cap of $11.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.25, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.58. AptarGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $120.36 and a twelve month high of $169.85.

AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The industrial products company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.36 by $0.01. AptarGroup had a net margin of 9.00% and a return on equity of 15.13%. The business had revenue of $910.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $930.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. AptarGroup's revenue was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that AptarGroup, Inc. will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.

AptarGroup announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. AptarGroup's payout ratio is 38.63%.

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.