Credit Agricole S A Sells 293,907 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A has decreased its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company by 60.7%, reducing its shares to 190,658 and valuing its investment at approximately $4.95 million.
• Graphic Packaging has announced a $1.50 billion share buyback program, signaling that leadership believes the stock is undervalued.
• The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.40, and set FY 2025 EPS guidance between $1.90-2.20.

Credit Agricole S A lessened its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 60.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 190,658 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 293,907 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A owned about 0.06% of Graphic Packaging worth $4,949,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 69.9% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,065 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the first quarter worth about $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 42.3% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,125 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the first quarter worth about $64,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.38.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Graphic Packaging stock traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $22.39. 2,448,064 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,093,733. The stock has a market cap of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.43. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a one year low of $20.86 and a one year high of $30.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.79.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last announced 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 analyst estimates 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. On average, equities analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Graphic Packaging's 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 purchase up to 23.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often 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 business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.80, for a total value 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. The trade was a 20.74% decrease in their position. The sale 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.

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.