EULAV Asset Management Acquires 48,399 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

EULAV Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 229,526 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,399 shares during the quarter. EULAV Asset Management owned 0.34% of AptarGroup worth $36,768,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in AptarGroup by 446.5% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in AptarGroup during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 4,983.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

AptarGroup Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of AptarGroup stock opened at $166.90 on Wednesday. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.29 and a 1 year 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. The stock has a market cap of $11.11 billion, a PE ratio of 33.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $163.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.46.

AptarGroup declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 10th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is currently 36.14%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,530,412.80. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gael Touya sold 3,300 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.62, for a total transaction of $500,346.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,876,857.30. This trade represents a 9.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,499 shares of company stock valued at $6,393,076 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.