Advisor Resource Council Purchases New Shares in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

Advisor Resource Council bought a new position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 44,984 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,168,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 24,606 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $692,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 9,231 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 241,302 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,554,000 after buying an additional 14,030 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 113,423 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,081,000 after buying an additional 7,453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,133 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 1,376 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of GPK stock traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.17. The company had a trading volume of 4,330,491 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,587,489. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 12 month low of $20.86 and a 12 month high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.88. The firm's fifty day moving average is $22.98 and its 200 day moving average is $25.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.74.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.05). The company 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 7.15% and a return on equity of 23.68%. The business's revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group began coverage on Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.40.

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.