Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 334 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 19.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 334 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ATR. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in AptarGroup by 446.5% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in AptarGroup by 281.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new stake in AptarGroup in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 4,983.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $195.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.60, for a total transaction of $5,088,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 174,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,530,412.80. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $1,324,977.84. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,639 shares of company stock worth $5,960,841 in the last quarter. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATR opened at $172.59 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $11.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $164.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.03. AptarGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $122.29 and a one year high of $178.03.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 24th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is 36.14%.

AptarGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, October 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management 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.