Amcor Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AMCR)

Amcor plc (NYSE:AMCR) was the target of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors purchased 13,512 put options on the company. This represents an increase of 449% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,461 put options.

Amcor Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE AMCR traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $9.49. The stock had a trading volume of 18,540,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,042,563. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $9.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $10.31. Amcor has a 52 week low of $8.80 and a 52 week high of $11.48. The company has a market capitalization of $13.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Amcor (NYSE:AMCR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16. The firm had revenue of $3.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.33 billion. Amcor had a net margin of 5.89% and a return on equity of 26.14%. The company’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.09 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Amcor will post 0.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amcor Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.1275 dividend. This represents a $0.51 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.38%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Amcor’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 92.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AMCR shares. UBS Group raised shares of Amcor from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Amcor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Truist Financial raised Amcor from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $10.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America raised Amcor from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $12.50 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Amcor from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $11.00 to $12.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $11.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Achal Agarwal purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $10.10 per share, for a total transaction of $101,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 88,967 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $898,566.70. This trade represents a 12.66 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Amcor

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amcor by 3,410.3% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,387 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 2,319 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amcor by 3,794.1% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 3,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 3,225 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted its stake in shares of Amcor by 2,064.5% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 3,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 3,551 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in shares of Amcor by 247.4% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,735 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 2,660 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in shares of Amcor in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. 45.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Amcor

Amcor plc develops, produces, and sells packaging products in Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa, and the Asia Pacific regions. The company operates through two segments, Flexibles and Rigid Packaging. The Flexibles segment provides flexible and film packaging products in the food and beverage, medical and pharmaceutical, fresh produce, snack food, personal care, and other industries.