American Century Companies Inc. Has $479.96 Million Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 11.7%, now owning approximately 6.13% of the company, valued at nearly $480 million.
• Graphic Packaging's recent quarterly earnings beat analysts' expectations, reporting earnings per share of $0.42 against a forecast of $0.40.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, with a payout ratio of approximately 24.86%.

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 11.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,488,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,932,841 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 6.13% of Graphic Packaging worth $479,962,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging in the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 42.3% during the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at $79,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 554.5% in the 1st 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. 99.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on GPK shares. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective 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. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group initiated coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.38.

Graphic Packaging Trading Up 1.9%

Graphic Packaging stock traded up $0.4270 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $22.7470. The stock had a trading volume of 2,921,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,097,256. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 12 month low of $20.86 and a 12 month high of $30.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.93. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $6.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 7.65 and a beta of 0.73.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 21.13% and a net margin of 6.18%. Graphic Packaging has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.900-2.20 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

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

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In other news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 7,015 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.80, for a total transaction of $152,927.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,479.80. This represents a 20.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.41% of the company's stock.

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.