AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 258,067 Shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. (NYSE:AMBP)

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. (NYSE:AMBP) by 422.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 319,165 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 258,067 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.05% of Ardagh Metal Packaging worth $1,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AMBP. Catalina Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Ardagh Metal Packaging during the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging by 34.5% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,521 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 5,009 shares during the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ardagh Metal Packaging during the 2nd quarter valued at $77,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Ardagh Metal Packaging in the 1st quarter valued at $91,000. Finally, Sanders Morris Harris LLC purchased a new position in Ardagh Metal Packaging in the 1st quarter worth about $98,000. 16.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of AMBP opened at $3.74 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $3.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.64. Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. has a 12-month low of $2.57 and a 12-month high of $4.17. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 124.21. The firm has a market cap of $2.23 billion, a PE ratio of -31.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.62.

Ardagh Metal Packaging (NYSE:AMBP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.32 billion. Ardagh Metal Packaging had a negative net margin of 1.02% and a positive return on equity of 114.77%. The firm’s revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ardagh Metal Packaging S.A. will post 0.16 EPS for the current year.

Ardagh Metal Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 12th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 12th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 10.71%. Ardagh Metal Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is currently -333.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AMBP. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Ardagh Metal Packaging from $3.95 to $4.25 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on Ardagh Metal Packaging from $4.00 to $4.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group cut Ardagh Metal Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $5.00 to $3.75 in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ardagh Metal Packaging currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.74.

About Ardagh Metal Packaging

Ardagh Metal Packaging SA, together with its subsidiaries, supplies consumer metal beverage cans in Europe, the United States, and Brazil. Its products are used in various end-use categories, including beer, carbonated soft drinks, energy drinks, hard seltzers, juices, pre-mixed cocktails, teas, sparkling waters, and wine.