Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) Shares Sold by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. cut its position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) by 16.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,597 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,394 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $327,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in Graphic Packaging by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 123,226 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,347,000 after buying an additional 1,356 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 20,658 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 3,334 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in Graphic Packaging by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 194,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,282,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 32.0% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 164,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,467,000 after purchasing an additional 14,598 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPK opened at $22.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.90, a P/E/G ratio of 7.41 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $22.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.23. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 52-week low of $20.86 and a 52-week high of $30.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.02. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 21.13% and a net margin of 6.18%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.86%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GPK. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Graphic Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.38.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 56,737 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.84, for a total transaction of $1,239,136.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $738,759.84. The trade was a 62.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.41% of the company’s stock.

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.