AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Short Interest Up 19.0% in January

AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 629,600 shares, an increase of 19.0% from the December 31st total of 529,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 279,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other AptarGroup news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of AptarGroup

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of AptarGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in AptarGroup by 446.5% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 312.0% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of AptarGroup in the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of AptarGroup stock traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $157.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 834,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 247,379. 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 12-month low of $128.05 and a 12-month high of $178.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $161.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $158.75. The company has a market cap of $10.46 billion, a PE ratio of 31.57, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.59.

AptarGroup announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, October 10th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding 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 usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is currently 36.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.