Short Interest in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Increases By 12.4%

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) was the recipient of a large 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 trading volume, of 276,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

AptarGroup Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:ATR traded down $0.36 on Tuesday, hitting $172.40. 160,049 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 237,705. The stock 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. AptarGroup has a 52 week low of $122.29 and a 52 week high of $178.03. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $167.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $154.23.

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

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 24th. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Buying and Selling at AptarGroup

In other AptarGroup 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 value of $162,752.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,848 shares in the company, 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 hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.60, for a total value of $5,088,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,530,412.80. The trade was a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,639 shares of company stock valued at $5,960,841 in the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of AptarGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at $108,239,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in AptarGroup by 111.0% in the second quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,075,168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $151,394,000 after acquiring an additional 565,511 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 29.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,106,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $337,502,000 after acquiring an additional 479,193 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its position in shares of AptarGroup by 182.1% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 538,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $86,315,000 after purchasing an additional 347,800 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,864,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $298,626,000 after purchasing an additional 214,097 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

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.