Markel Group Inc. Buys 32,500 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Markel Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 427,225 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,500 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc.’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $11,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 2,484.0% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 92.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 58.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.70.

Graphic Packaging Trading Down 0.7 %

Graphic Packaging stock opened at $27.55 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $27.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.39. The company has a market cap of $8.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 52-week low of $25.13 and a 52-week high of $30.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last released its quarterly 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). The firm 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 15th will be paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 20.37%.

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.