Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets cut its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 89.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,191 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 325,095 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $1,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,725,347 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $807,340,000 after buying an additional 145,209 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 16,555,660 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $449,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,295 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,503,189 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $441,990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,702,764 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,600,941 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $396,562,000 after purchasing an additional 788,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 8.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,610,233 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $313,957,000 after purchasing an additional 787,266 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on GPK shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $29.17.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPK traded down $0.00 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.62. 3,175,577 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,520,934. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $24.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.53. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 1-year low of $20.86 and a 1-year high of $30.70. The firm has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.05). Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 25.96% and a net margin of 7.47%. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. Graphic Packaging's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.46%.

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

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.