Wolverine Asset Management LLC Acquires New Position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

Key Points

• Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased 20,000 shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK), valued at approximately $519,000, in the first quarter of the year.
• Graphic Packaging announced a share repurchase plan allowing for the buyback of up to $1.50 billion in outstanding shares, indicating the board believes the stock is undervalued.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.9%, scheduled for payment on October 5th.

Wolverine Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 20,000 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $519,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging during the first quarter valued at $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 42.3% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,125 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 554.5% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 3,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter worth about $161,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 7,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.80, for a total value of $152,927.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $584,479.80. The trade was a 20.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.41% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Trading Down 1.0%

GPK stock traded down $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $22.40. 506,540 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,070,921. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.05. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 1 year low of $20.86 and a 1 year high of $30.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66, a P/E/G ratio of 7.82 and a beta of 0.73.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 21.13%. On average, research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is 24.86%.

Graphic Packaging announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.