9,970 Shares in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Acquired by Highland Capital Management LLC

Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 9,970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $271,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 24.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,800,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $437,945,000 after purchasing an additional 2,927,344 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,460,161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $605,416,000 after buying an additional 2,294,688 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,642,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 8.0% in 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 acquiring an additional 787,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the third quarter valued at approximately $11,079,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

GPK stock opened at $27.39 on Friday. Graphic Packaging Holding has a one year low of $23.47 and a one year high of $30.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 28.26%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is 17.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total transaction of $355,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 49,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,022.85. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total transaction of $750,841.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,348,943.74. The trade was a 24.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GPK. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.37.

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.