Essex Financial Services Inc. Sells 56,471 Shares of Amcor PLC $AMCR

Essex Financial Services Inc. cut its stake in Amcor PLC (NYSE:AMCR) by 77.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 16,539 shares of the company’s stock after selling 56,471 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Amcor were worth $657,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMCR. AdvisorNet Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Amcor during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. DV Equities LLC bought a new stake in Amcor during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its position in Amcor by 137.9% during 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 period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Amcor by 46.1% during 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 period. Finally, N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Amcor by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Amcor in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $50.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Amcor from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Amcor from $54.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Amcor from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $41.00 target price on shares of Amcor and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Amcor currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

Amcor Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:AMCR opened at $44.98 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.04. The company has a market capitalization of $20.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30, a current ratio of 1.44 and a quick ratio of 0.95. Amcor PLC has a 1 year low of $36.25 and a 1 year high of $50.94.

Amcor (NYSE:AMCR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $5.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. Amcor’s revenue was up 77.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Amcor PLC will post 3.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amcor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 28th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 28th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. Amcor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.