Allianz Asset Management GmbH Has $8.49 Million Stock Position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH reduced its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company by 35.8%, now holding approximately 0.11% of the company worth $8.49 million.
• Graphic Packaging reported Q1 earnings of $0.51 per share, missing expectations by $0.05, with a revenue of $2.12 billion, down 6.2% from the previous year.
• The company has initiated a $1.50 billion share buyback plan, indicating confidence in its stock's undervaluation, and a dividend yield of 1.89% has been declared.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lessened its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 35.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 326,858 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 182,162 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.11% of Graphic Packaging worth $8,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Markel Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 8.0% during the first quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 461,225 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $11,973,000 after buying an additional 34,000 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the first quarter worth $281,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1,004.9% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,240,697 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $239,888,000 after buying an additional 8,404,340 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 4.6% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 188,581 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,894,000 after buying an additional 8,332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1.9% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 367,559 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,538,000 after buying an additional 6,886 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of GPK opened at $23.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 0.71. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $22.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.52. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 12 month low of $20.86 and a 12 month high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.46%.

Graphic Packaging announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 buy up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on GPK. Truist Financial decreased their target price 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. Bank of America decreased their target price 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. 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 objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.38.

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.

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