PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Sells 4,944 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) by 16.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 25,685 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,944 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $667,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPK. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake 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 valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the period. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter worth approximately $79,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 554.5% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 3,083 shares during the period. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter worth approximately $161,000. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of GPK stock opened at $22.76 on Wednesday. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a fifty-two week low of $20.86 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86, a PEG ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.10.

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 return on equity of 21.13% and a net margin of 6.18%. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is presently 24.86%.

Graphic Packaging declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback 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 repurchase up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group started coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Graphic Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.38.

Insider Transactions at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 56,737 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.84, for a total value 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 approximately $738,759.84. The trade was a 62.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.41% of the company’s stock.

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.