Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Stake in Sealed Air Co. (NYSE:SEE)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Sealed Air Co. (NYSE:SEE) by 8.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,089 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,558 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Sealed Air were worth $1,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FORA Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sealed Air during the third quarter valued at approximately $376,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Sealed Air in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,383,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA purchased a new stake in Sealed Air in the 3rd quarter worth $321,000. Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in Sealed Air by 38.8% in the 3rd quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 56,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,054,000 after purchasing an additional 15,827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Sealed Air by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 561,577 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $20,385,000 after purchasing an additional 110,806 shares during the last quarter. 94.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on SEE. StockNews.com downgraded Sealed Air from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Sealed Air in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Sealed Air from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Sealed Air from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Sealed Air from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Sealed Air Stock Performance

Shares of Sealed Air stock opened at $36.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $35.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.77. Sealed Air Co. has a 52 week low of $30.87 and a 52 week high of $41.14. The company has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a PE ratio of 13.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.07 and a beta of 1.34.

Sealed Air (NYSE:SEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.34 billion. Sealed Air had a net margin of 7.34% and a return on equity of 74.21%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Sealed Air Co. will post 3.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Sealed Air Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Sealed Air’s payout ratio is 29.41%.

Sealed Air Profile

Sealed Air Corporation provides packaging solutions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. It operates through two segments, Food and Protective. The Food segment offers integrated packaging materials and automation equipment solutions to provide food safety, shelf life extension, reduce food waste, automate processes, and optimize total cost for food processors in the fresh red meat, smoked and processed meats, poultry, seafood, plant-based, fluids and liquids and cheese markets under the CRYOVAC, CRYOVAC Grip & Tear, CRYOVAC Darfresh, LIQUIBOX, Simple Steps, and Optidure brands.