West Coast Financial LLC Has $3.42 Million Position in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR)

West Coast Financial LLC boosted its stake in AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE:ATR) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,787 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in AptarGroup were worth $3,423,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in AptarGroup by 174.0% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,628 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $570,000 after acquiring an additional 2,304 shares during the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in AptarGroup in the fourth quarter worth $2,202,000. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC grew its stake in AptarGroup by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 2,608 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in AptarGroup by 40.9% during the 4th quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,749 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of AptarGroup by 58.9% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 14,157 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,268,000 after acquiring an additional 5,248 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.52% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on ATR. Dbs Bank raised AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of AptarGroup in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of AptarGroup from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $215.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on AptarGroup from $185.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, 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. One 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.60.

AptarGroup Price Performance

NYSE ATR opened at $155.68 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $10.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.26, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.59. AptarGroup, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.51 and a 52 week high of $178.03. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $165.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $157.29.

AptarGroup announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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 on Monday, October 28th. The shares were 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 directly owns 174,118 shares in the company, valued at $29,530,412.80. This trade represents a 14.70 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kimberly Chainey sold 964 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,848 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,324,977.84. This 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 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.