Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Shares Sold by FIL Ltd

FIL Ltd lowered its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,134,594 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 31,544 shares during the period. FIL Ltd owned 0.71% of Graphic Packaging worth $57,976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 108.6% in the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 64,343 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 33,493 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,021,143 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,734,000 after acquiring an additional 13,175 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 8.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,610,233 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $313,957,000 after purchasing an additional 787,266 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at $51,642,000. Finally, Advocate Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 226,399 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,149,000 after buying an additional 28,703 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Graphic Packaging Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE GPK traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $25.14. 375,315 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,636,994. Graphic Packaging Holding has a twelve month low of $23.02 and a twelve month high of $30.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.46.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 25.96%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. This is a boost from Graphic Packaging's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is 20.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GPK. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Graphic Packaging from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.37.

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.