Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $1.31 Million Stock Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) by 75.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,708 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $1,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 55.4% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 92.7% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the period. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 42.3% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 632 shares during the period. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter worth about $79,000. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:GPK opened at $22.42 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.94, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.71. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $22.15 and its 200-day moving average is $24.81. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 1 year low of $20.86 and a 1 year high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.66 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, July 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 15th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on GPK shares. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Graphic Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group began coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.88.

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.