Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Shares Sold by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Mackenzie Financial Corp lessened its position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 23.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 80,910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 25,224 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $1,994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GPK. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 64.1% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,046 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 3,925 shares during the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 3.6% during the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 14,391 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the third quarter worth approximately $577,000. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 23.2% during the third quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. now owns 482,176 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,743,000 after purchasing an additional 90,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 19.5% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 5,817,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $129,615,000 after purchasing an additional 950,904 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on GPK. StockNews.com lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. 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. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.44.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

GPK opened at $27.07 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $8.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a 50 day moving average of $27.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 52-week low of $20.07 and a 52-week high of $29.50.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.67% and a return on equity of 35.66%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 205,231 shares in the company, 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.

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.