Simplicity Solutions LLC Has $547,000 Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Simplicity Solutions LLC lessened its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,183 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,054 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the first quarter worth $519,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the first quarter worth $184,000. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 2.6% during the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 15,105,236 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $302,709,000 after purchasing an additional 377,055 shares during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 3.2% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 25,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 9.0% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 11,619 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $1,834,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 205,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,377,052.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on GPK. StockNews.com cut shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.44.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of GPK opened at $27.20 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 0.84. The company’s 50-day moving average is $27.12 and its 200-day moving average is $24.68. Graphic Packaging Holding has a fifty-two week low of $20.07 and a fifty-two week high of $29.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.67% and a return on equity of 35.66%. The company’s revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is presently 17.02%.

Graphic Packaging Company 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.