abrdn plc Reduces Stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

abrdn plc lessened its position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,739,663 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 75,914 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc owned about 0.57% of Graphic Packaging worth $51,477,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GPK. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 41.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,115,566 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $317,549,000 after buying an additional 3,576,877 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,800,425 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $437,945,000 after purchasing an additional 2,927,344 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,600,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $251,632,000 after purchasing an additional 706,486 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 215.0% in the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 704,530 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $20,558,000 after purchasing an additional 480,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 33.2% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,719,878 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $45,078,000 after acquiring an additional 428,278 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GPK. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $35.20 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Truist Financial lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.53.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $2,422,790.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,123,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at $59,555,816.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $1,372,697.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,909,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,296,266.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $2,422,790.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,123,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $59,555,816.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of GPK traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.50. 2,529,087 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,535,472. The company has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93, a PEG ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.58. Graphic Packaging Holding has a twelve month low of $21.08 and a twelve month high of $30.70. The business's 50-day moving average price is $29.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.18.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 30.74%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, October 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 15th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.10%.

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.