Amcor PLC $AMCR Position Boosted by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Key Points

• Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. sharply increased its Amcor stake by 2,116.2% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 160,123 shares valued at about $1.34 million.
• Amcor reported better-than-expected revenue and kept earnings in line with estimates, while also raising its full-year guidance, which supported a positive outlook from investors.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, equivalent to an annualized yield of roughly 6.5%, though some analysts trimmed price targets even as they maintained buy ratings.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Amcor PLC (NYSE:AMCR - Free Report) by 2,116.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 160,123 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 152,898 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in Amcor were worth $1,335,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Amcor by 7.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 139,077,241 shares of the company's stock worth $1,137,652,000 after purchasing an additional 9,375,255 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Amcor by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 113,335,957 shares of the company's stock worth $945,222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,845,627 shares during the last quarter. M&G PLC lifted its position in shares of Amcor by 26.6% during the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 108,333,984 shares of the company's stock worth $866,672,000 after purchasing an additional 22,737,979 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 10,846,351 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Amcor by 103.9% during the third quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 39,344,317 shares of the company's stock worth $321,837,000 after purchasing an additional 20,052,979 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.14% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Amcor

Here are the key news stories impacting Amcor this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Amcor said revenue topped expectations and raised its full-year guidance, which helped spark buying interest and suggests operating trends are improving. Amcor (AMCR) rises after revenue beat and higher full-year guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Several Wall Street firms remained constructive after the report: Citigroup kept a buy rating, JPMorgan held an overweight view, and Truist reaffirmed a buy rating with a slightly higher target, reinforcing a favorable analyst backdrop. Analyst rating updates
• Positive Sentiment: Amcor also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, supporting the stock’s appeal for income-focused investors with a roughly 6.5% annualized yield.
• Neutral Sentiment: An earnings-call summary noted strong synergy progress but some cash flow strain, indicating execution remains important even after the upbeat quarter. Amcor Earnings Call: Synergies Strong, Cash Flow Strained
• Neutral Sentiment: One Seeking Alpha piece argued Amcor looks inexpensive on a forward P/E basis and highlighted the dividend as a reason to wait, which supports valuation but does not point to a major near-term catalyst. Amcor: Mispriced At Multi-Year Low Forward P/E With A Dividend That Pays To Wait
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the positive tone, Citigroup and JPMorgan both lowered price targets, suggesting analysts see a bit less upside than before even while maintaining bullish ratings. Price target reductions

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Amcor in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $50.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Amcor from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price target on shares of Amcor in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Amcor from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $46.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Amcor from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $48.00 to $43.00 in a report on Friday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amcor presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.56.

Amcor Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AMCR opened at $39.96 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $41.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.50. Amcor PLC has a 52-week low of $36.67 and a 52-week high of $50.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.63.

Amcor (NYSE:AMCR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96. Amcor had a net margin of 3.06% and a return on equity of 14.55%. The firm had revenue of $5.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. Amcor's revenue was up 77.4% on a year-over-year basis. Amcor has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.980-4.030 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Amcor PLC will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Amcor Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.5%. Amcor's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 181.82%.

Amcor Company 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.

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