Silgan Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SLGN) Shares Sold by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB trimmed its stake in Silgan Holdings Inc. (NYSE:SLGN) by 17.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,488 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,800 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Silgan were worth $1,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. grew its holdings in shares of Silgan by 24.4% during the 3rd quarter. Nicola Wealth Management LTD. now owns 96,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,087,000 after purchasing an additional 19,000 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new position in Silgan during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,975,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Silgan by 144.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 54,938 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,884,000 after buying an additional 32,432 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP increased its position in shares of Silgan by 112.7% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 10,208 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 5,408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Silgan in the 4th quarter valued at $620,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.25% of the company’s stock.

Silgan Price Performance

SLGN stock opened at $53.67 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $53.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $52.69. Silgan Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $41.14 and a 52-week high of $58.14. The company has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Silgan (NYSE:SLGN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.03. Silgan had a net margin of 4.72% and a return on equity of 19.70%. Analysts predict that Silgan Holdings Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Silgan Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. This is an increase from Silgan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 17th. Silgan’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.46%.

Insider Activity at Silgan

In other news, CEO Adam J. Greenlee sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.73, for a total value of $6,841,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 227,332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,441,880.36. This trade represents a 35.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert B. Lewis sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.22, for a total transaction of $1,064,400.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 152,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,096,518.26. This represents a 11.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.39% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on SLGN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Silgan from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Silgan from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Silgan from $63.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital upped their price target on Silgan from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Silgan from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $64.22.

Silgan Company Profile

Silgan Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells rigid packaging solutions for consumer goods products in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Dispensing and Specialty Closures, Metal Containers, and Custom Containers. The Dispensing and Specialty Closures segment offers a range of metal and plastic closures, and dispensing systems for food, beverage, health care, garden, home, personal care, beauty products, and hard surface cleaning products, as well as capping/sealing equipment and detection systems.