Blueshift Asset Management LLC Makes New $244,000 Investment in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 8,249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PEAK6 Investments LLC raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 119.5% in the 1st quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC now owns 7,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 44,781 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 21.5% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 35,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 6,356 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging during the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 3.6% during the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 176,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,148,000 after buying an additional 6,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 99.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 104,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,049,000 after buying an additional 52,139 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of GPK opened at $30.01 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.40. The stock has a market cap of $9.01 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82, a P/E/G ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.83. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 1-year low of $22.12 and a 1-year high of $30.70. 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 (NYSE:GPK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.04). Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 28.26%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.52 EPS 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 issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on GPK. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Truist Financial lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $32.00 to $30.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.53.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total value of $750,841.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,348,943.74. The trade was a 24.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,022.85. This represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.