Verity Asset Management Inc. Buys Shares of 9,532 Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Verity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 9,532 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of GPK. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its position in Graphic Packaging by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 38,064 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,126,000 after buying an additional 401 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 1.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 26,805 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $793,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,493 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,255 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $333,000 after purchasing an additional 584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 160,726 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,756,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In related news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total value of $355,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 49,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,478,022.85. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

NYSE:GPK traded down $0.52 on Friday, hitting $26.48. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,728,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,527,352. Graphic Packaging Holding has a one year low of $23.47 and a one year high of $30.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $27.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, 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 earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.04). Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 25.96% and a net margin of 7.47%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. Graphic Packaging's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This is a positive change from Graphic Packaging's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on GPK. Citigroup reiterated 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. StockNews.com lowered Graphic Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Graphic Packaging from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.70.

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.