MML Investors Services LLC Invests $209,000 in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of AptarGroup by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,889,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $462,919,000 after buying an additional 14,001 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in AptarGroup by 29.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,106,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $337,502,000 after acquiring an additional 479,193 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in AptarGroup by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,864,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $298,626,000 after acquiring an additional 214,097 shares in the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in AptarGroup by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,158,102 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $185,516,000 after acquiring an additional 82,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in AptarGroup by 1.9% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 953,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $152,813,000 after acquiring an additional 17,975 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

NYSE:ATR opened at $158.85 on Friday. AptarGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.29 and a twelve month high of $178.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.90, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $169.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.25.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 24th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 24th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.14%.

AptarGroup declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in 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 usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of 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 raised AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Dbs Bank raised AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AptarGroup news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,324,977.84. This 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 company 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.