Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 801,066 Shares of Sealed Air Co. (NYSE:SEE)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Sealed Air Co. (NYSE:SEE - Free Report) by 72.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 307,398 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 801,066 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.21% of Sealed Air worth $10,906,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of SEE. Family Firm Inc. bought a new position in Sealed Air in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of Sealed Air in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sealed Air by 100.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,833 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 1,422 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Sealed Air by 523.6% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,912 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 2,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Sealed Air in the second quarter worth $105,000. Institutional investors own 94.40% of the company's stock.

Sealed Air Stock Performance

SEE traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $33.59. 3,319,228 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,509,226. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 4.97 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 quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 5.62. The company's fifty day moving average price is $35.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $35.57.

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

Sealed Air Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. Sealed Air's payout ratio is 29.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on SEE shares. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Sealed Air from $44.00 to $41.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Raymond James raised Sealed Air from a "market perform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com raised Sealed Air from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Sealed Air from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Sealed Air in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.00.

About Sealed Air

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.