Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Decreases Position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC reduced its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company by 72.1%, holding 21,678 shares worth approximately $565,000 after selling 56,088 shares in the first quarter.
• Graphic Packaging reported a quarterly EPS of $0.42, exceeding analysts' expectations, and achieved a revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, with a dividend yield of 2.1% and a payout ratio of 24.86%.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC cut its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 72.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,678 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 56,088 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 69.9% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,065 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 42.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,125 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the 1st quarter valued at about $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

NYSE:GPK opened at $21.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91, a PEG ratio of 7.04 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $22.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.36. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a fifty-two week low of $20.38 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 21.13%. Graphic Packaging has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.900-2.20 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 56,737 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $738,759.84. This trade represents a 62.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total transaction of $681,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 255,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,798,212.16. The trade was a 10.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 93,752 shares of company stock valued at $2,073,663 in the last ninety days. 1.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group initiated 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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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