AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Shares Sold by GHP Investment Advisors Inc.

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,384 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,734 shares during the quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. owned about 0.07% of AptarGroup worth $7,444,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Creative Planning raised its holdings in AptarGroup by 13.9% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 3,422 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $482,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in AptarGroup during the 2nd quarter worth $1,087,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in AptarGroup by 79.6% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 598 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in AptarGroup by 6.0% in the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 2,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 92.5% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,066 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATR opened at $158.41 on Thursday. 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 company has a market cap of $10.54 billion, a PE ratio of 31.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $161.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.90. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.30 and a 1-year high of $178.03.

AptarGroup declared that its board has authorized a share buyback 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 purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is 36.14%.

Insider Transactions at AptarGroup

In related news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,324,977.84. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATR has been the subject of several research reports. Raymond James began coverage on AptarGroup in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America downgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $190.60.

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.