Creative Planning Purchases 467 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Creative Planning grew its stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 13.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 467 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $623,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ATR. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 111.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,075,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $151,394,000 after buying an additional 565,511 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of AptarGroup by 35.9% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 805,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $113,395,000 after purchasing an additional 212,886 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in AptarGroup by 9.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 716,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,917,000 after acquiring an additional 64,288 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in AptarGroup by 2.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 646,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $91,092,000 after acquiring an additional 12,533 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in AptarGroup by 182.1% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 538,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $86,315,000 after acquiring an additional 347,800 shares during the period. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

NYSE:ATR opened at $168.26 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 50-day moving average of $159.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $150.33. The stock has a market cap of $11.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.79, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.57. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.29 and a 1-year high of $171.41.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 24th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is 36.14%.

AptarGroup declared that its board has approved a share buyback 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 buy up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at AptarGroup

In other AptarGroup news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.56, for a total value of $117,248.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 20,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,956,701.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other AptarGroup news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.56, for a total value of $117,248.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 20,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,956,701.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Monnas Giovanna Kampouri sold 1,922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.43, for a total transaction of $277,594.46. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,839 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,616.77. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,457 shares of company stock valued at $7,680,110. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup 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.