Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Shares Sold by Polaris Capital Management LLC

Polaris Capital Management LLC lessened its position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 35.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 58,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 32,900 shares during the period. Polaris Capital Management LLC's holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $1,594,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Regents Gate Capital LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter worth $6,286,000. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 84.3% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,096,000 after acquiring an additional 18,458 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 347,652 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,442,000 after purchasing an additional 43,394 shares during the period. Choreo LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 25,448 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares during the period. Finally, Verity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at about $259,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Graphic Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.70.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

GPK traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $26.74. 730,856 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,423,946. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.02 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.84. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 1-year low of $23.47 and a 1-year high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business's 50-day moving average price is $27.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.59.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 25.96% and a net margin of 7.47%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. This is a positive change from Graphic Packaging's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging 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 value of $355,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,022.85. This trade represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.