AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Cut to Neutral at Bank of America

Bank of America lowered shares of AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. Bank of America currently has $173.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Dbs Bank raised AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $190.60.

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of ATR stock opened at $153.82 on Monday. AptarGroup has a 1-year low of $122.97 and a 1-year high of $178.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $166.88 and its 200 day moving average is $156.96. The company has a market cap of $10.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.89, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

AptarGroup declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, October 10th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in 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 typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at AptarGroup

In related news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,324,977.84. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 174,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,530,412.80. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ATR. Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new position in AptarGroup during the third quarter valued at approximately $108,239,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in AptarGroup by 111.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $337,502,000 after buying an additional 479,193 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in shares of AptarGroup by 182.1% in the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 538,830 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $86,315,000 after buying an additional 347,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of AptarGroup by 13.0% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,864,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $298,626,000 after buying an additional 214,097 shares in the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.