Fisher Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 11.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,275 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,102 shares during the quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $5,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in AptarGroup by 9.9% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 17,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,532,000 after acquiring an additional 1,583 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,735,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 43.8% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 113,503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,182,000 after buying an additional 34,573 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 35.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 805,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $113,395,000 after buying an additional 212,886 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,066,000 after buying an additional 12,271 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Stock Down 0.2 %

ATR stock opened at $171.73 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $166.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.62. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.29 and a 12 month high of $178.03. The company has a market cap of $11.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.57. 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 24th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.14%.

AptarGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ATR shares. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $195.00.

Insider Activity at AptarGroup

In related news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 174,118 shares in the company, valued at $29,530,412.80. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Gael Touya sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,639 shares of company stock worth $5,960,841 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.