AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Shares Sold by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC decreased its holdings in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 29,499 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 13,697 shares during the period. Barclays PLC’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $4,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of 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 report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Dbs Bank upgraded AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $195.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the business’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 approximately $29,530,412.80. The trade was a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.83, for a total transaction of $162,752.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

AptarGroup Price Performance

AptarGroup stock opened at $158.18 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.76, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $169.50 and a 200-day moving average of $155.99. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.29 and a 52-week high of $178.03.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 24th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.14%.

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

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.