Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Holdings Trimmed by Polaris Capital Management LLC

Polaris Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 35.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 58,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 32,900 shares during the period. Polaris Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $1,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,800,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $437,945,000 after acquiring an additional 2,927,344 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,460,161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $605,416,000 after buying an additional 2,294,688 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,642,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,131,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 8.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,610,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $313,957,000 after acquiring an additional 787,266 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,478,022.85. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Graphic Packaging stock opened at $26.41 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 12-month low of $23.47 and a 12-month high of $30.70. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.62.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its quarterly 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). Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 25.96% and a net margin of 7.47%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Graphic Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is 18.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.70.

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.