Logan Capital Management Inc. Has $9.50 Million Stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Logan Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 349,710 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 12,687 shares during the quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $9,498,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in GPK. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 637,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,854,000 after purchasing an additional 51,451 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 408,831 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $12,069,000 after acquiring an additional 89,339 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,610,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $313,957,000 after purchasing an additional 787,266 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at $51,642,000. Finally, Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter worth $190,000. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on GPK shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial cut their price target on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $29.17.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPK opened at $22.31 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a PE ratio of 10.33, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 12-month low of $20.86 and a 12-month high of $30.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $25.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.91.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.05). Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 25.96% and a net margin of 7.47%. The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging announced that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 repurchase up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.