Huntington National Bank Boosts Holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 312.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $55,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of ATR. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at about $108,239,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in AptarGroup by 111.0% during the second quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,075,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,394,000 after buying an additional 565,511 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 479,193 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 182.1% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 538,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $86,315,000 after acquiring an additional 347,800 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position 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 worth $113,395,000 after acquiring an additional 212,886 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 $29,530,412.80. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert Kuhn sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total transaction of $30,036.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,844,599.36. This represents a 0.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,499 shares of company stock worth $6,393,076. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ATR has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of 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 shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, AptarGroup currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.00.

AptarGroup Stock Up 0.1 %

ATR stock opened at $166.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.09 billion, a PE ratio of 33.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a fifty day moving average of $163.25 and a 200-day moving average of $152.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.62. AptarGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $122.29 and a one year high of $178.03.

AptarGroup announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 10th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 24th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.14%.

About AptarGroup

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.