Oak Thistle LLC Takes $2.20 Million Position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 14,016 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,202,000. AptarGroup comprises about 0.7% of Oak Thistle LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ATR. State Street Corp grew its stake in AptarGroup by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,889,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $462,919,000 after purchasing an additional 14,001 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in 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 valued at $337,502,000 after buying an additional 479,193 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in AptarGroup by 13.0% during 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in AptarGroup by 5.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,515,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $245,444,000 after buying an additional 83,452 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in AptarGroup by 7.7% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,158,102 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $185,516,000 after acquiring an additional 82,934 shares during the period. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at AptarGroup

In other news, 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the company’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,324,977.84. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Price Performance

AptarGroup stock opened at $154.62 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $165.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.05, 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, Inc. has a one year low of $125.51 and a one year high of $178.03.

AptarGroup announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, October 10th that allows the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ATR. Raymond James started coverage on shares of AptarGroup in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Dbs Bank raised AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America cut AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AptarGroup currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $190.60.

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.