Amcor PLC $AMCR Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP sharply reduced its Amcor stake in the first quarter, selling 8.13 million shares and cutting its position by 75.2% to 2.68 million shares worth about $106.7 million.
• Analysts remain generally positive on Amcor, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $48.08. Recent target changes included Bank of America raising its objective to $51 and JPMorgan lowering its target to $44.
• Amcor reported quarterly earnings of $0.96 per share, matching expectations, on revenue of $5.91 billion that topped estimates. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.65 per share, implying a 5.8% annualized yield.

First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in shares of Amcor PLC (NYSE:AMCR - Free Report) by 75.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,683,095 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,130,830 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned approximately 0.58% of Amcor worth $106,653,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Amcor in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. DV Equities LLC acquired a new position in Amcor during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. increased its position in shares of Amcor by 137.9% in the 4th quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 3,450 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Amcor by 46.1% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,985 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 1,257 shares during the last quarter. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amcor by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,070 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 373 shares in the last quarter. 45.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AMCR. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of 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 Amcor from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $44.92 price target on Amcor and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $43.00 target price on Amcor and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Amcor from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amcor currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.08.

Amcor Trading Up 4.6%

Shares of Amcor stock opened at $44.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 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's 50-day simple moving average is $41.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30.

Amcor (NYSE:AMCR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $5.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.90 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 77.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Amcor PLC will post 3.97 earnings per share for the current year.

Amcor Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 28th. Amcor's dividend payout ratio 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.

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