Brokerages Set AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) PT at $189.50

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) has received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $190.60.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ATR. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of AptarGroup in a research report on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Dbs Bank raised shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AptarGroup news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AptarGroup

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank boosted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 2,349 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Argent Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 1,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 4,585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $734,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of ATR opened at $153.82 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a PE ratio of 30.89, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50-day moving average is $166.88 and its 200-day moving average is $156.96. AptarGroup has a fifty-two week low of $122.97 and a fifty-two week high of $178.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

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