KBC Group NV Increases Stock Holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 10.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 162 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $266,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 167.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 6,690 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $957,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in AptarGroup by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 11,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,583,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its position in AptarGroup by 2.0% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 69,802 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,044,000 after buying an additional 1,348 shares during the last quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in AptarGroup by 21.2% during the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 5,045 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $726,000 after buying an additional 884 shares during the period. Finally, Axxcess Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AptarGroup during the first quarter valued at about $227,000. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AptarGroup news, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,530,412.80. The trade was a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.83, for a total value of $162,752.12. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,499 shares of company stock worth $6,393,076. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:ATR opened at $166.90 on Wednesday. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.29 and a 12-month high of $178.03. The firm 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 company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $163.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $152.46.

AptarGroup announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program 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 buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 24th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.00.

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.