South Dakota Investment Council Acquires New Stake in Berry Global Group, Inc. (NYSE:BERY)

South Dakota Investment Council acquired a new stake in Berry Global Group, Inc. (NYSE:BERY) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 37,222 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,508,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Berry Global Group during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Berry Global Group by 69.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Berry Global Group by 203.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 650 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Berry Global Group by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Berry Global Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $101,000. 95.36% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BERY shares. Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Berry Global Group from $74.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. TheStreet lowered shares of Berry Global Group from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $62.00 price objective (down from $72.00) on shares of Berry Global Group in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective (down from $68.00) on shares of Berry Global Group in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Berry Global Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Berry Global Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $72.00.

Berry Global Group Stock Up 1.0 %

BERY opened at $56.91 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $58.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.45. The company has a market cap of $6.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.25. Berry Global Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.83 and a 1 year high of $69.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Berry Global Group (NYSE:BERY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The industrial products company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $2.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. Berry Global Group had a return on equity of 26.79% and a net margin of 4.51%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Berry Global Group, Inc. will post 7.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Berry Global Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.275 per share. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. Berry Global Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.66%.

Insider Transactions at Berry Global Group

In related news, Director Peter T. Thomas purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $56.00 per share, with a total value of $112,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Peter T. Thomas purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $56.00 per share, with a total value of $112,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $112,000. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jonathan F. Foster purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $58.49 per share, with a total value of $58,490.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,728 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $335,030.72. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 4.00% of the company’s stock.

Berry Global Group Company Profile

Berry Global Group, Inc manufactures and supplies non-woven, flexible, and rigid products in consumer and industrial end markets in the United States, Canada, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through Consumer Packaging International; Consumer Packaging North America; Engineered Materials; and Health, Hygiene & Specialties segments.