Fifth Third Bancorp Boosts Stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) by 46.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,080 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $138,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 3.6% during the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 69.9% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,065 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 4.1% during the first quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 6.4% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 8,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the period. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 1.9% during the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 30,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $808,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 255,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,798,212.16. This trade represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Philip R. Martens sold 7,015 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.80, for a total transaction of $152,927.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 26,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $584,479.80. This represents a 20.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 93,752 shares of company stock valued at $2,073,663 over the last 90 days. 1.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Graphic Packaging Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:GPK opened at $19.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04, a PEG ratio of 6.65 and a beta of 0.75. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 1-year low of $19.05 and a 1-year high of $30.70. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $21.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.69.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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. On average, research analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors 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 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on GPK shares. Bank of America dropped 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.00.

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.