abrdn plc Trims Position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

abrdn plc lessened its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,067,312 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 210,981 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc owned about 0.68% of Graphic Packaging worth $50,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GPK. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the first quarter worth about $519,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the first quarter worth about $184,000. BlackRock Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In related news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total transaction of $1,834,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 205,231 shares in the company, valued at $5,377,052.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of GPK stock opened at $27.35 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 1.10. Graphic Packaging Holding has a fifty-two week low of $20.07 and a fifty-two week high of $29.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.76. The company has a market capitalization of $8.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.84.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced 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. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 35.66% and a net margin of 7.67%. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.02%.

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.