Alberta Investment Management Corp Decreases Stock Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

Alberta Investment Management Corp trimmed its position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) by 64.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 73,443 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $1,038,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 4.8% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 14,288 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $371,000 after buying an additional 649 shares during the period. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 11.5% during the 1st quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 20,121 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 12.2% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 82,015 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,129,000 after purchasing an additional 8,911 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 30,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $808,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 134.2% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 18,773 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $487,000 after purchasing an additional 10,758 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GPK shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.38.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of GPK stock opened at $21.49 on Monday. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 12 month low of $20.86 and a 12 month high of $30.70. The stock has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.27 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $22.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.34.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.02. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 21.13%. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. On average, equities analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 5th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is presently 24.86%.

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

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.