GAMMA Investing LLC Sells 708 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

GAMMA Investing LLC lowered its position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) by 15.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,776 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 708 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $98,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 194,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,282,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 836,357 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $22,715,000 after purchasing an additional 68,956 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 32.0% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 70,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 17,183 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter worth $229,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 92.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Graphic Packaging stock opened at $21.91 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $22.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.97. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a one year low of $20.86 and a one year high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.71.

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

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

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

Graphic Packaging announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.