LPL Financial LLC Has $2.89 Million Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK

LPL Financial LLC cut its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) by 9.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 111,424 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,802 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $2,893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 194,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,282,000 after buying an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 70,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,924,000 after buying an additional 17,183 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 23,482 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $657,000 after buying an additional 1,547 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 470.4% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 18,379 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 15,157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 870,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,606,000 after buying an additional 170,593 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of GPK opened at $22.50 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.65 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.96. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 12 month low of $20.86 and a 12 month high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. As a group, analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 23.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued 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 2.0%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In other news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 56,737 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director owned 33,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $738,759.84. This represents a 62.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.41% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 note on Friday, July 18th. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Graphic Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.38.

Graphic Packaging 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.