Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Amcor PLC $AMCR

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Amcor PLC (NYSE:AMCR) by 83.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,132,546 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,583,718 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.25% of Amcor worth $45,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital International Investors bought a new stake in shares of Amcor in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $354,227,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Amcor during the 4th quarter valued at $308,724,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amcor by 398.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 16,015,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,184,000 after purchasing an additional 12,803,785 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC bought a new position in Amcor in the 4th quarter worth about $103,713,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Amcor by 29.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 47,111,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $385,373,000 after acquiring an additional 10,846,351 shares during the period. 45.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AMCR. Citigroup lowered their price target on Amcor from $54.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Amcor from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $51.00 target price (up from $50.00) on shares of Amcor in a report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Amcor from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $41.00 price target on Amcor and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Amcor presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $48.00.

Amcor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AMCR opened at $43.18 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 0.62. Amcor PLC has a 52 week low of $36.25 and a 52 week high of $50.94. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $40.21 and a 200 day moving average of $42.11.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.96. Amcor had a return on equity of 14.55% and a net margin of 3.06%.The business had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 77.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Amcor PLC will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amcor Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 (DPR) is presently 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.