Handelsbanken Fonder AB Trims Stock Position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB reduced its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,738,152 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 455,400 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned 1.25% of Graphic Packaging worth $101,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 108.6% in the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 64,343 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 33,493 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position 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 worth $27,734,000 after purchasing an additional 13,175 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 8.0% in the 3rd 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 period. Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 707,969 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $20,949,000 after purchasing an additional 136,342 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,642,000. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Graphic Packaging

In other news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total transaction of $355,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,022.85. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Up 0.1 %

GPK traded up $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $27.10. The stock had a trading volume of 3,135,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,371,214. The company has a market capitalization of $8.14 billion, a PE ratio of 12.55, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.84. Graphic Packaging Holding has a twelve month low of $25.13 and a twelve month high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.46. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.50.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 25.96% and a net margin of 7.47%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This is an increase from Graphic Packaging's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is presently 18.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GPK. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $30.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Graphic Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price 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, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.70.

Graphic Packaging 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.