Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Shares Sold by Zacks Investment Management

Zacks Investment Management decreased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 484,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 84,492 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management owned approximately 0.16% of Graphic Packaging worth $13,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 55.4% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,163 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Graphic Packaging by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 9,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 24,606 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $692,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the period. Finally, Keynote Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 7,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.37.

Graphic Packaging Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:GPK opened at $24.48 on Thursday. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 52-week low of $23.03 and a 52-week 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.59. The company has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a PE ratio of 11.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Graphic Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

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.