Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Reduces Stock Position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) by 86.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,657 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 137,008 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,725,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $807,340,000 after purchasing an additional 145,209 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 16,555,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $449,652,000 after buying an additional 1,206,295 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,600,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $396,562,000 after buying an additional 788,066 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,872,765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $186,666,000 after acquiring an additional 414,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eminence Capital LP grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 5,824,872 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $158,204,000 after acquiring an additional 418,013 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE GPK opened at $21.91 on Friday. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a one year low of $20.86 and a one year high of $30.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.99. The firm has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.88.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.05). Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 23.68% and a net margin of 7.15%. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on GPK. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.40.

Graphic Packaging 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.