Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 580 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lowered its stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,766 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 580 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $3,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in AptarGroup during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in AptarGroup by 446.5% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 281.0% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 312.0% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Dbs Bank upgraded AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, AptarGroup has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $195.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.83, for a total value of $162,752.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,324,977.84. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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. The trade was 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.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

AptarGroup stock opened at $170.20 on Friday. AptarGroup, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.29 and a twelve month high of $178.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $11.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.18, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $169.33 and its 200 day moving average is $155.49.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 24th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.14%.

AptarGroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.