Stephens Inc. AR Sells 18,464 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Stephens Inc. AR lowered its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 51.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,763 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 18,464 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPK. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 2,484.0% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 58.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,493 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the third quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on GPK shares. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com cut Graphic Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Graphic Packaging from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.70.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPK traded up $0.20 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.89. 359,139 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,382,012. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 52-week low of $23.47 and a 52-week 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $27.41 and a 200-day moving average of $28.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.84.

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). Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 25.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.64%. This is a positive change from Graphic Packaging's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is presently 18.52%.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In related news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total transaction of $355,800.00. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.