AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Coverage Initiated at Raymond James

Equities researchers at Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price target on the industrial products company’s stock. Raymond James’ price objective indicates a potential upside of 30.92% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on ATR. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Bank of America lowered AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Dbs Bank upgraded AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, AptarGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $190.60.

AptarGroup Stock Performance

AptarGroup stock opened at $152.76 on Tuesday. AptarGroup has a 52 week low of $122.37 and a 52 week high of $178.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $10.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $167.20 and a 200-day moving average of $156.91.

AptarGroup announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at AptarGroup

In related news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,848 shares of the company’s stock, 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 is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.60, for a total transaction of $5,088,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 174,118 shares in the company, valued at $29,530,412.80. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AptarGroup

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in AptarGroup by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the last quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division now owns 21,554 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,386,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 69,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,648,000 after buying an additional 15,244 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in AptarGroup by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,492 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,962,000 after acquiring an additional 2,091 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in AptarGroup during the 3rd quarter worth $126,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.