BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Cuts Holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. decreased its holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 4.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,693 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,617 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned about 0.16% of AptarGroup worth $17,412,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ATR. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its position in AptarGroup by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 17,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,532,000 after purchasing an additional 1,583 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of AptarGroup during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,735,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 35.9% in 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 period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in AptarGroup by 43.8% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 113,503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,182,000 after acquiring an additional 34,573 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 2.0% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 646,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,092,000 after acquiring an additional 12,533 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AptarGroup news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.83, for a total transaction of $162,752.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,324,977.84. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Gael Touya sold 3,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 32,165 shares in the company, valued at $4,876,857.30. This trade represents a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,299 shares of company stock worth $6,363,040. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ATR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Dbs Bank raised shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. 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, AptarGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.00.

AptarGroup Stock Up 1.0 %

ATR opened at $171.51 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $11.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.57. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average is $164.95 and its 200 day moving average is $152.99. AptarGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.29 and a fifty-two week high of $178.03.

AptarGroup announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management 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 paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 24th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.