Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR - Free Report) by 30.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 153,716 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 66,929 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of AptarGroup worth $24,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 2,362 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $333,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in 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 worth $91,092,000 after buying an additional 12,533 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in AptarGroup by 12.2% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 14,888 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,096,000 after buying an additional 1,622 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in AptarGroup by 96.3% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 177,644 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,014,000 after buying an additional 87,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 113,310 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $15,955,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467 shares during the period. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Dbs Bank raised AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AptarGroup from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $195.00.

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATR traded down $0.50 during trading on Thursday, reaching $158.85. The company had a trading volume of 164,518 shares, compared to its average volume of 289,491. 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 twelve month low of $122.29 and a twelve month high of $178.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $169.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 24th. AptarGroup's payout ratio is 36.14%.

AptarGroup announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in 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 an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at AptarGroup

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 directly owns 7,848 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,324,977.84. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.60, for a total transaction 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 approximately $29,530,412.80. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is 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.