Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 69,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 15,244 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of AptarGroup worth $11,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position 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. raised its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 43.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 12,271 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of AptarGroup by 35.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 805,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $113,395,000 after purchasing an additional 212,886 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 83,452 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in AptarGroup by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 646,912 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $91,092,000 after purchasing an additional 12,533 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.83, for a total value of $162,752.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,324,977.84. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.60, for a total transaction of $5,088,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:ATR opened at $158.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.62. The company has a market capitalization of $10.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. AptarGroup, Inc. has a one year low of $122.29 and a one year high of $178.03. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $155.99.

AptarGroup declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, October 10th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 4.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 24th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. AptarGroup’s payout ratio is 36.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Dbs Bank raised shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on AptarGroup from $168.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $195.00.

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.