Deutsche Bank AG Buys 518,280 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 24.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,651,301 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 518,280 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.88% of Graphic Packaging worth $72,009,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 108.6% in the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 64,343 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 33,493 shares in the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,021,143 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,734,000 after buying an additional 13,175 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,610,233 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $313,957,000 after buying an additional 787,266 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 0.3% in 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. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,642,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE GPK traded up $0.24 on Friday, reaching $23.56. The company had a trading volume of 2,657,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,512,476. 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 company's fifty day moving average is $24.72 and its 200 day moving average is $26.76. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 52-week low of $20.86 and a 52-week high of $30.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 25.96%. The business's revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on GPK shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.17.

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.