Cerity Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 23,482 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 1,547 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,007,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,826,000 after purchasing an additional 2,969 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 8.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 637,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,854,000 after buying an additional 51,451 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 3rd quarter worth about $359,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 3rd quarter valued at about $414,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the third quarter worth about $73,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPK opened at $24.50 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.46. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 52 week low of $23.03 and a 52 week high of $30.70. The firm has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.80.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 25.96% and a net margin of 7.47%. Graphic Packaging’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This is a positive change from Graphic Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 20.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.37.

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.