Aberdeen Group plc Sells 374,456 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc has reduced its position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company by 25.9%, now owning 1,073,880 shares valued at approximately $27.88 million.
• The stock is currently rated a "Hold" by analysts, with a consensus target price of $26.38, reflecting a decrease from previous estimates.
• Graphic Packaging has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, representing a yield of 2.0%, with an authorized share repurchase plan of up to $1.50 billion.

Aberdeen Group plc lowered its holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 25.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,073,880 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 374,456 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.36% of Graphic Packaging worth $27,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,890,782 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $204,844,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018,017 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter worth approximately $16,017,000. Fiduciary Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter worth approximately $559,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 52.6% during the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 139,715 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,627,000 after acquiring an additional 48,176 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on GPK. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.38.

Insider Transactions at Graphic Packaging

In related news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 56,737 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.84, for a total transaction of $1,239,136.08. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at $738,759.84. This represents a 62.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Graphic Packaging Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE GPK traded up $0.2850 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $22.8650. 2,927,581 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,082,865. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a one year low of $20.86 and a one year high of $30.70. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.91. The stock has a market cap of $6.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.92, a P/E/G ratio of 7.73 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.02. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 21.13%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Graphic Packaging has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.900-2.20 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 5th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.86%.

Graphic Packaging declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.