Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK Shares Bought by Howard Capital Management Group LLC

Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) by 2.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,056,963 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,215 shares during the period. Graphic Packaging accounts for about 1.5% of Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Howard Capital Management Group LLC owned about 0.35% of Graphic Packaging worth $22,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 69.9% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,065 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 42.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 1st quarter worth approximately $64,000. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GPK shares. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Graphic Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Bank of America cut their price objective on 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 cut their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Insider Transactions at Graphic Packaging

In related news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 7,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.80, for a total value of $152,927.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 26,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,479.80. This represents a 20.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total transaction of $681,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 255,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,798,212.16. This trade represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 93,752 shares of company stock worth $2,073,663. 1.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

GPK opened at $19.38 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $21.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.43. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 52 week low of $19.06 and a 52 week high of $30.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95, a P/E/G ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 0.75.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 21.13%. Graphic Packaging has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.900-2.20 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.86%.

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.