Handelsbanken Fonder AB Lowers Stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 17.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,095,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 643,000 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $80,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,725,347 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $807,340,000 after purchasing an additional 145,209 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 16,555,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $449,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,295 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,503,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $441,990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,702,764 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,600,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $396,562,000 after buying an additional 788,066 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,610,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $313,957,000 after buying an additional 787,266 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on GPK shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial reduced their target price 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. UBS Group started coverage on Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.53.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

NYSE:GPK opened at $22.24 on Tuesday. 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 Holding has a 1-year low of $20.86 and a 1-year high of $30.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $23.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.02. The stock has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.46%.

Graphic Packaging announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.