Trexquant Investment LP Buys 23,085 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK – Get Rating) by 53.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 66,242 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,085 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $1,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,297 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 656 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 1,275.3% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,668 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 2,474 shares during the period. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the 3rd quarter valued at $82,000. Finally, American International Group Inc. raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 4,414 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 783 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 94.47% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:GPK opened at $23.76 on Monday. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 52-week low of $18.90 and a 52-week high of $25.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $23.27 and a 200 day moving average of $22.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.40.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.01. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 5.53% and a return on equity of 36.32%. The company had revenue of $2.39 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.31 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of Graphic Packaging from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $27.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Graphic Packaging news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.99, for a total value of $1,439,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 209,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,019,907.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Graphic Packaging

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Graphic Packaging Holding Co engages in the provision of paper-based packaging solutions for a variety of products to food, beverage and other consumer products companies. It operates through the following business segments: Paperboard Mills, Americas Paperboard Packaging, Europe Paperboard Packaging, and Corporate and Other.