Howard Capital Management Group LLC Boosts Position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 133,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,325 shares during the quarter. AptarGroup comprises approximately 1.4% of Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Howard Capital Management Group LLC owned approximately 0.20% of AptarGroup worth $20,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 58.9% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,268,000 after buying an additional 5,248 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in AptarGroup by 43.8% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 113,503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,182,000 after acquiring an additional 34,573 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in AptarGroup by 43.9% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,066,000 after acquiring an additional 12,271 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in AptarGroup by 5.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,515,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $245,444,000 after acquiring an additional 83,452 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 29.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 479,193 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ATR shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Bank of America cut AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, AptarGroup currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other AptarGroup news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,848 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,324,977.84. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATR opened at $159.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $163.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.75. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 1-year low of $128.05 and a 1-year high of $178.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a market cap of $10.64 billion, a PE ratio of 32.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.59.

AptarGroup announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, October 10th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are 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.