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

Vestcor Inc reduced its position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,811 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,740 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 12.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,460,161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $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 during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,642,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter worth about $34,131,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,669,000. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on GPK shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.70.

Graphic Packaging Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of GPK opened at $26.21 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $26.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.27. The stock has a market cap of $7.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 52-week low of $25.13 and a 52-week high of $30.70.

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

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Graphic Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.37%.

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.