AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) Lowered to “Neutral” Rating by Bank of America

Bank of America downgraded shares of AptarGroup (NYSE:ATR) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note published on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $173.00 price objective on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research note on Monday, October 14th. Dbs Bank raised AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, AptarGroup presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $190.60.

AptarGroup Stock Up 0.3 %

AptarGroup stock opened at $153.82 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.24 billion, a PE ratio of 30.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.59. AptarGroup has a 12 month low of $122.97 and a 12 month high of $178.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $166.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.96. 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 has authorized a share 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 reacquire up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 7,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,324,977.84. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,530,412.80. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AptarGroup

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 43.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 113,503 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,182,000 after purchasing an additional 34,573 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 43.9% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,202 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,066,000 after buying an additional 12,271 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,515,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $245,444,000 after buying an additional 83,452 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 35.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 805,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $113,395,000 after buying an additional 212,886 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 29.4% in the 3rd 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 during the period. 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.