Wellington Management Group LLP Cuts Stock Holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 3.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,738 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 547 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $2,681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ATR. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of AptarGroup in the third quarter worth $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in AptarGroup by 446.5% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in AptarGroup by 281.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 312.0% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 79.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 598 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AptarGroup Stock Down 2.8 %

ATR stock opened at $162.95 on Wednesday. AptarGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.29 and a twelve month high of $178.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $10.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.65, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $169.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.72.

AptarGroup declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is currently 36.14%.

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 transaction of $162,752.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,324,977.84. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the company’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 completion of 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 trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ATR. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research 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 research note on Monday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $195.00.

AptarGroup 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.