Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Takes Position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 91,539 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,486,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 2,294,688 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $441,990,000 after buying an additional 1,702,764 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,610,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $313,957,000 after buying an additional 787,266 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 4,799,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $128,178,000 after buying an additional 302,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Premier Fund Managers Ltd grew its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 3,441,614 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,545,000 after buying an additional 302,680 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of GPK stock opened at $26.22 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 12 month low of $25.13 and a 12 month high of $30.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $26.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.24.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 25.96%. Graphic Packaging’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.75 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 EPS 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 paid a $0.11 dividend. This is a positive change from Graphic Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on GPK shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.