State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Sells 2,616 Shares of AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 10.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,647 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,616 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $3,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in AptarGroup by 42.5% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 4,299 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of AptarGroup in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in AptarGroup during the third quarter worth $204,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in AptarGroup by 40.0% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 37,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,345,000 after purchasing an additional 10,815 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. acquired a new stake in AptarGroup in the 3rd quarter valued at $108,239,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 7,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.52, for a total value of $1,054,944.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,900,950.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Xiangwei Gong sold 7,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.52, for a total transaction of $1,054,944.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,900,950.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Stephan B. Tanda sold 30,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 174,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,530,412.80. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 44,735 shares of company stock worth $7,285,268 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

AptarGroup Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of ATR stock opened at $175.67 on Wednesday. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.29 and a 12-month high of $178.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $161.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.52. 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 $11.69 billion, a PE ratio of 35.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.57.

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

AptarGroup Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 24th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 24th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. AptarGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.