M&T Bank Corp Sells 8,308 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

M&T Bank Corp trimmed its holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) by 17.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 8,308 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $1,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 42.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graphic Packaging Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Graphic Packaging stock opened at $22.30 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 12-month low of $20.86 and a 12-month high of $30.70. The company has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $22.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.79.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, July 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 15th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on GPK shares. UBS Group started coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.