Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Shares Sold by Ethic Inc.

Ethic Inc. lessened its position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 21,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,100 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 108.6% during the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 64,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after buying an additional 33,493 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,021,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,734,000 after buying an additional 13,175 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 8.0% during the third 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. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 0.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter valued at $51,642,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

NYSE:GPK opened at $23.31 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $24.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company has a market cap of $7.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81. Graphic Packaging Holding has a twelve month low of $20.86 and a twelve month high of $30.70.

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

Graphic Packaging declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on GPK shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $29.17.

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.