AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) Short Interest Update

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.83, for a total value of $162,752.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,848 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of AptarGroup stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of AptarGroup

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ATR. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 19.1% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $688,000 after buying an additional 785 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 69.6% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 152,267 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $21,441,000 after buying an additional 62,500 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the second quarter worth $17,263,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in AptarGroup by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 716,617 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $100,917,000 after purchasing an additional 64,288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in AptarGroup by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 141,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $19,925,000 after purchasing an additional 9,000 shares during the last quarter. 88.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ATR shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of AptarGroup from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America downgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $173.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of AptarGroup from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James began coverage on shares of AptarGroup in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Dbs Bank raised shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $190.60.

AptarGroup Stock Down 0.2 %

ATR stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $156.08. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 231,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 254,875. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $10.39 billion, a PE ratio of 31.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.59. AptarGroup has a 12 month low of $126.31 and a 12 month high of $178.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $164.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $157.64.

AptarGroup announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, October 10th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to purchase up to 4.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.