Townsquare Capital LLC Buys 5,728 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

Townsquare Capital LLC raised its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) by 16.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,728 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $1,078,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Graphic Packaging by 3.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Graphic Packaging by 4.1% in the first quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in Graphic Packaging by 6.4% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 8,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its position in Graphic Packaging by 1.9% in the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 30,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $808,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Graphic Packaging by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 194,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,282,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 56,737 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.84, for a total value of $1,239,136.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,826 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $738,759.84. The trade was a 62.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.41% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NYSE GPK opened at $22.69 on Friday. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 1-year low of $20.86 and a 1-year high of $30.70. The company has a market cap of $6.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.82, a P/E/G ratio of 7.82 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.05.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced 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. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 21.13%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 23.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is currently 24.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on GPK shares. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.38.

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.