Principal Financial Group Inc. Lowers Position in Amcor PLC $AMCR

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in Amcor PLC (NYSE:AMCR) by 79.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 622,490 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,366,704 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Amcor worth $24,744,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dakota Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Amcor by 74.6% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 345,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,881,000 after acquiring an additional 147,639 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Amcor in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in 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. Code Waechter LLC increased its position in Amcor by 105.1% during the fourth quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 54,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 27,725 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Amcor by 64.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 242,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,034,000 after purchasing an additional 94,753 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.14% of the company’s stock.

Amcor Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AMCR opened at $43.22 on Tuesday. Amcor PLC has a fifty-two week low of $36.25 and a fifty-two week high of $50.94. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.19. 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 stock has a market cap of $19.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Amcor Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 28th were paid a $0.65 dividend. 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 currently 181.82%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AMCR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Amcor in a report on Thursday. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $43.00 price objective on Amcor and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $51.00 target price (up from $50.00) on shares of Amcor in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Amcor from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Amcor from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Amcor has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.40.

About Amcor

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.