Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 19.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 102,182 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 24,853 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.'s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $3,024,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GPK. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 546.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 944 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,744 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Finally, LGT Group Foundation purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the first quarter worth $134,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of GPK stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.24. 1,812,142 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,553,177. Graphic Packaging Holding has a fifty-two week low of $22.04 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company has a market capitalization of $8.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12, a P/E/G ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 0.83. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $29.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.32.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 28.26%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.53.

Insider Transactions at Graphic Packaging

In other news, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total transaction of $750,841.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,348,943.74. This represents a 24.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

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.