abrdn plc Lowers Stock Position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

abrdn plc reduced its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 16.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,448,336 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 291,327 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc owned about 0.48% of Graphic Packaging worth $39,279,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 546.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 944 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 2,484.0% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 3rd quarter valued at $73,000. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Graphic Packaging from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In other news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total transaction of $355,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,022.85. This represents a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 1.9 %

GPK stock traded down $0.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $26.48. 2,728,904 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,527,352. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.84. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 1 year low of $23.47 and a 1 year high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 25.96% and a net margin of 7.47%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.51 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Graphic Packaging's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is 18.52%.

Graphic Packaging Company Profile

Graphic Packaging Holding Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, produces, and sells consumer packaging products to brands in food, beverage, foodservice, household, and other consumer products. It operates through three segments: Paperboard Manufacturing, Americas Paperboard Packaging, and Europe Paperboard Packaging.