AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Shares Bought by First Financial Bank Trust Division

First Financial Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,554 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the quarter. First Financial Bank Trust Division’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $3,386,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in AptarGroup during the third quarter worth about $25,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 446.5% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 235 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 312.0% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of AptarGroup by 79.6% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 598 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in AptarGroup by 42.9% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 636 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at AptarGroup

In other news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 7,848 shares in the company, valued at $1,324,977.84. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of AptarGroup 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,530,412.80. This represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

AptarGroup Price Performance

Shares of ATR traded down $2.94 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $154.16. 239,349 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 288,759. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.67. AptarGroup, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.37 and a fifty-two week high of $178.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.26 billion, a PE ratio of 30.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

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

AptarGroup Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 24th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.17%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.14%.

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.