Oxford Asset Management LLP Acquires Shares of 15,787 Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Oxford Asset Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 15,787 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $429,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 55.4% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 2,484.0% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 92.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of Graphic Packaging stock opened at $25.02 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $25.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $27.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.80. Graphic Packaging Holding has a fifty-two week low of $23.03 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.04). Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 25.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.75 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 15th were paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is an increase from Graphic Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on GPK. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $30.89.

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.