Fmr LLC Acquires 2,294,688 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,460,161 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,294,688 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned approximately 6.82% of Graphic Packaging worth $605,416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 546.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 944 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,744 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the second quarter worth $88,000. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of GPK stock traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $30.09. 1,022,415 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,539,908. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82, a P/E/G ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.41. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 52-week low of $22.49 and a 52-week high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.04). Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 28.26% and a net margin of 7.99%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.74 EPS. Graphic Packaging's revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is 17.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total value of $355,800.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,022.85. This trade represents a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total value of $750,841.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,026 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,348,943.74. The trade was a 24.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com downgraded Graphic Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial downgraded Graphic Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.53.

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.