AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 511,500 shares, a growth of 12.4% from the October 31st total of 454,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 276,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AptarGroup news, insider Hedi Tlili sold 1,375 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.54, for a total value of $209,742.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,379 shares in the company, valued at $1,430,672.66. The trade was a 12.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Gael Touya sold 3,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.62, for a total value 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. The trade was a 9.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 35,639 shares of company stock worth $5,960,841. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AptarGroup

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the third quarter worth $25,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 281.0% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 240 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 446.5% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC bought a new stake in AptarGroup in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in AptarGroup by 4,983.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 305 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ATR has been the topic of several research reports. 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 note on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Dbs Bank raised shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, 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 research report on Monday, October 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $195.00.

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of ATR traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $172.40. The company had a trading volume of 160,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 237,705. The company has a market capitalization of $11.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $154.23. AptarGroup has a 1-year low of $122.29 and a 1-year high of $178.03.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th were paid 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 presently 36.14%.

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

AptarGroup Company 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.