Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 460,243 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 36,683 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich owned about 0.15% of Graphic Packaging worth $12,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in 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 valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 554.5% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 3,083 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Graphic Packaging Stock Performance
GPK stock traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.36. The company had a trading volume of 1,342,255 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,951,146. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a one year low of $20.86 and a one year high of $30.70. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $22.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.55.
Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 earnings per share (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 analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 23.68% and a net margin of 7.15%. Graphic Packaging's revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.
Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, July 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 15th were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.88%. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.46%.
Graphic Packaging announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GPK. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. 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 report on Friday, July 18th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Bank of America dropped their price objective 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. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.38.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Graphic Packaging
Graphic Packaging Company Profile
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Free Report)
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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