Bank of Montreal Can Reduces Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 43.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,759 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 45,198 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $1,623,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 23,482 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $657,000 after buying an additional 1,547 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 164,478 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,467,000 after acquiring an additional 14,598 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 70,831 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 17,183 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 194,467 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,282,000 after buying an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $30.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Raymond James dropped their price target on Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $30.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.89.

Graphic Packaging Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of GPK stock traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.54. The stock had a trading volume of 238,080 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,590,688. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.54. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 12-month low of $23.02 and a 12-month high of $30.70. The firm's 50-day moving average is $25.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.45.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 last year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 15th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Graphic Packaging's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is 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.