IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Has $2.57 Million Stock Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd increased its position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) by 23.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,889 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 18,668 shares during the quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $2,567,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 123,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,356 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 20,658 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 3,334 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its stake in 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. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in 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. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 164,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,467,000 after purchasing an additional 14,598 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of Graphic Packaging stock opened at $21.49 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 7.27 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.34. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a fifty-two week low of $20.86 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is currently 24.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GPK shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Graphic Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.38.

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.