Swiss National Bank Lowers Holdings in Amcor PLC $AMCR

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in shares of Amcor PLC (NYSE:AMCR) by 78.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,356,169 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,969,379 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Amcor were worth $53,908,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in shares of Amcor in the fourth quarter worth about $354,227,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Amcor during the fourth quarter worth about $308,724,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Amcor by 398.6% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 16,015,722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,184,000 after acquiring an additional 12,803,785 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in Amcor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $103,713,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Amcor by 29.9% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 47,111,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $385,373,000 after acquiring an additional 10,846,351 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Amcor from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Amcor from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Amcor in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Amcor in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $44.92 price objective on shares of Amcor in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.08.

Amcor Stock Up 0.6%

Amcor stock opened at $43.48 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.10 billion, a PE ratio of 30.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $40.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $42.20. Amcor PLC has a 12 month low of $36.25 and a 12 month high of $50.94.

Amcor (NYSE:AMCR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96. Amcor had a return on equity of 14.55% and a net margin of 3.06%.The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.90 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 77.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Amcor PLC will post 3.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amcor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.0%. Amcor’s dividend payout ratio is currently 181.82%.

Amcor Profile

Amcor (NYSE: AMCR) is a global packaging company specializing in the design, development and production of flexible and rigid packaging solutions for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical, home and personal care, and other consumer and industrial products. The company’s product portfolio encompasses flexible films, pouches, specialty cartons, rigid containers, metal closures and dispensing systems. Amcor’s packaging solutions are engineered to preserve product quality, extend shelf life and meet the specific requirements of a wide range of end markets.

Founded in its current form in 2005 following a spin-off from a mining conglomerate, Amcor expanded its capabilities and geographic footprint through organic investments and strategic acquisitions.