Polaris Capital Management LLC Cuts Position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Polaris Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 35.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 32,900 shares during the period. Polaris Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $1,594,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 1,432 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the second quarter worth $711,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 57.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 546.6% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ellsworth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 0.4% during the third quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 160,726 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,756,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In other news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total transaction of $355,800.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

NYSE GPK opened at $26.41 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $27.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market cap of $7.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.84. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 52-week low of $23.47 and a 52-week high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.15 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 25.96%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.75 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. This is an increase from Graphic Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on GPK shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of 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 lifted their price target on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three 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 $31.70.

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.