Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,725,347 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 145,209 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.90% of Graphic Packaging worth $807,340,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPK. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter worth $51,642,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,503,189 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $441,990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,702,764 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,131,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 16,555,660 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $449,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter worth about $25,669,000. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Graphic Packaging stock traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $26.16. 4,425,404 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,402,050. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 12-month low of $24.50 and a 12-month high of $30.70. The business's 50-day moving average is $26.61 and its 200-day moving average is $27.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a PE ratio of 12.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81.

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Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 25.96%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Graphic Packaging's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is 20.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set 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 reduced their target price on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Graphic Packaging from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.37.

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.