Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $22.98 Million Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 24.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 932,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 303,574 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $22,984,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cozad Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at $2,196,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 2,265.3% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 223,687 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,514,000 after buying an additional 214,230 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 166,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,106,000 after buying an additional 8,928 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter worth about $2,997,000. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 90,959 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,242,000 after acquiring an additional 3,059 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Trading Up 1.1 %

GPK stock opened at $27.68 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.24 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52, a P/E/G ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $27.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.27. Graphic Packaging Holding has a fifty-two week low of $20.07 and a fifty-two week high of $29.50.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 7.36%. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.10%.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 70,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 205,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,377,052.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPK has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Graphic Packaging from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.13.

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.