Vestcor Inc Lowers Stock Position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Vestcor Inc cut its position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 52.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,551 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 20,167 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging in the second quarter valued at approximately $258,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,020 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 30,119 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $789,000 after purchasing an additional 2,860 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 23,494 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 1,843 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 2.0% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 571,627 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $14,982,000 after buying an additional 10,981 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:GPK traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $29.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,398,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,517,854. Graphic Packaging Holding has a fifty-two week low of $23.47 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $29.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company has a market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a PE ratio of 12.55, a P/E/G ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.83.

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

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, January 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 15th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.36%. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is currently 17.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Graphic Packaging

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.