BNP Paribas Financial Markets Has $20.39 Million Position in Sealed Air Co. (NYSE:SEE)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Sealed Air Co. (NYSE:SEE - Free Report) by 24.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 561,577 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 110,806 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.39% of Sealed Air worth $20,385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in Sealed Air by 90.5% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 48,479 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,804,000 after purchasing an additional 23,029 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Sealed Air during the 3rd quarter worth $1,497,000. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its stake in Sealed Air by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,856,020 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $64,571,000 after purchasing an additional 24,940 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in Sealed Air during the 2nd quarter worth $2,098,000. Finally, Commerce Bank grew its stake in Sealed Air by 67.6% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 36,601 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,329,000 after purchasing an additional 14,766 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.40% of the company's stock.

Sealed Air Price Performance

Shares of SEE stock traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $36.60. 708,580 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,445,841. The stock's 50-day moving average is $35.84 and its 200-day moving average is $35.81. The stock has a market cap of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.06 and a beta of 1.34. Sealed Air Co. has a 52 week low of $30.87 and a 52 week high of $41.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62, a current ratio of 1.29 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

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

Sealed Air Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Sealed Air's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James raised Sealed Air from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $42.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com upgraded Sealed Air from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Sealed Air in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Sealed Air from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Sealed Air from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.00.

Sealed Air Company 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.