Short Interest in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Increases By 25.2%

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 529,200 shares, a growth of 25.2% from the November 30th total of 422,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 282,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

AptarGroup Trading Down 0.9 %

AptarGroup stock opened at $156.73 on Tuesday. AptarGroup has a 12-month low of $122.29 and a 12-month high of $178.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $168.42 and a 200 day moving average of $156.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 24th were paid 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 1.15%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.14%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AptarGroup

In other news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was 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 owns 7,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,324,977.84. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AptarGroup

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ATR. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the third quarter worth about $108,239,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 111.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $337,502,000 after buying an additional 479,193 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 182.1% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 538,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $86,315,000 after acquiring an additional 347,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in AptarGroup by 13.0% during the third 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. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATR has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.00.

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.