MML Investors Services LLC Invests $209,000 in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,306 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in AptarGroup by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,889,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $462,919,000 after acquiring an additional 14,001 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of AptarGroup by 29.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,106,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $337,502,000 after purchasing an additional 479,193 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 13.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,864,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $298,626,000 after purchasing an additional 214,097 shares during the last quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in AptarGroup by 7.7% during the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,158,102 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $185,516,000 after buying an additional 82,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in AptarGroup by 1.9% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 953,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $152,813,000 after buying an additional 17,975 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at AptarGroup

In related news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $1,324,977.84. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,530,412.80. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATR has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research 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 price target for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Four 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $195.00.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

Shares of ATR opened at $158.85 on Friday. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.29 and a 1 year high of $178.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.25.

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

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 24th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.13%. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is currently 36.14%.

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.