Weiss Asset Management LP Makes New Investment in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 38,908 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,151,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 16,595 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 1,921 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 4.7% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,697,512 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $50,228,000 after acquiring an additional 76,313 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1.8% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 43,608 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,290,000 after acquiring an additional 751 shares during the period. Paloma Partners Management Co grew its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 76.4% in the third quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co now owns 21,575 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 9,347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the third quarter worth approximately $493,000. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In related news, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total value of $750,841.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,026 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,348,943.74. The trade was a 24.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total value of $355,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 49,849 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,478,022.85. This represents a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

GPK stock traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $29.59. The company had a trading volume of 2,206,928 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,534,712. The company has a market capitalization of $8.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 1-year low of $22.76 and a 1-year high of $30.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $29.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.50.

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

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, January 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 15th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on GPK shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Truist Financial downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price target for the company from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Graphic Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.53.

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.