AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $175.15 and last traded at $173.50, with a volume of 6548 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $170.31.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

AptarGroup Stock Up 0.6 %

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $161.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.11. 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 company has a market cap of $11.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.57.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 24th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.14%.

AptarGroup announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, October 10th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert Kuhn sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total transaction of $30,036.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 65,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,844,599.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Robert Kuhn sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.18, for a total transaction of $30,036.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,552 shares in the company, valued at $9,844,599.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 174,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,530,412.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 46,657 shares of company stock worth $7,562,862. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AptarGroup

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 29.4% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its stake in AptarGroup by 7.7% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,158,102 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $185,516,000 after buying an additional 82,934 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 1.9% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 953,950 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $152,813,000 after acquiring an additional 17,975 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of AptarGroup by 35.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 805,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $113,395,000 after acquiring an additional 212,886 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of AptarGroup by 9.9% during 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

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.