AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Coverage Initiated at Raymond James

Equities research analysts at Raymond James started coverage on shares of AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) in a research report issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. Raymond James’ target price points to a potential upside of 30.02% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AptarGroup presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $190.60.

AptarGroup Stock Up 0.3 %

ATR stock opened at $153.82 on Tuesday. AptarGroup has a 12-month low of $122.97 and a 12-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 company has a market cap of $10.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.89, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a 50 day moving average of $166.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.96.

AptarGroup declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock 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 often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.83, for a total transaction of $162,752.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,324,977.84. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was 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 owns 174,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,530,412.80. The trade was 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ATR. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in AptarGroup by 2.5% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,522 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,608,000 after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in AptarGroup by 5.2% in the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 5,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $842,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in AptarGroup by 69.6% in the second quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 5,426 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $764,000 after acquiring an additional 2,227 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in AptarGroup by 6.8% in the second quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,239 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $456,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in 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 valued at $151,394,000 after acquiring an additional 565,511 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

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.