Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) Shares Sold by Alberta Investment Management Corp

Alberta Investment Management Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 64.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,980 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 73,443 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $1,038,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 123,226 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,347,000 after acquiring an additional 1,356 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 20,658 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 3,334 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 194,467 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,282,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 32.0% during 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 buying an additional 17,183 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 9.7% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at Graphic Packaging

In related news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 7,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.80, for a total transaction of $152,927.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 26,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,479.80. The trade was a 20.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Graphic Packaging stock traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $21.90. The company had a trading volume of 2,597,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,058,654. The company has a market capitalization of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a P/E/G ratio of 7.43 and a beta of 0.73. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 12-month low of $20.86 and a 12-month high of $30.70. The company's fifty day moving average is $22.06 and its 200-day moving average is $24.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a 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 approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 23.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.