Tidal Investments LLC Boosts Position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 18,492 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,091 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $2,962,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in AptarGroup by 3.6% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its position in 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 during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 2.3% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 3,315 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $531,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in AptarGroup by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Argent Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 6.1% during the second quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 1,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATR has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. 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 report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $195.00.

Insider Activity at AptarGroup

In other news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 sale 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 stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AptarGroup Stock Down 0.8 %

ATR opened at $170.20 on Monday. AptarGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $122.29 and a one year high of $178.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.62. The business’s fifty day moving average is $169.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.49. The company has a market cap of $11.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 24th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.14%.

AptarGroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 10th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is 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.