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

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 19.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,057 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $330,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new stake in AptarGroup during the 3rd quarter valued at $108,239,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 111.0% during the second quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,075,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,394,000 after purchasing an additional 565,511 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 479,193 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 182.1% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 538,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $86,315,000 after buying an additional 347,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at AptarGroup

In other AptarGroup news, insider Gael Touya sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.62, for a total transaction of $500,346.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,165 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,876,857.30. This represents a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of AptarGroup 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 174,118 shares in the company, valued at $29,530,412.80. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 35,639 shares of company stock valued at $5,960,841. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

Shares of ATR stock opened at $172.59 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.62. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.29 and a 52 week high of $178.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $164.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.03. The company has a market capitalization of $11.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.57.

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

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 24th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.04%. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is 36.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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