Deutsche Bank AG Reduces Stock Position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG sold 1,153,938 shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company, reducing its stake by 43.5%, leaving it with 1,497,363 shares valued at approximately $38.87 million.
• Despite Deutsche Bank's sell-off, institutional investors largely hold 99.67% of Graphic Packaging's stock, with notable recent purchases from firms like Wayfinding Financial LLC and Signaturefd LLC.
• Graphic Packaging's stock has faced target price cuts from several analysts, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.38, while the company recently reported a strong earnings beat of $0.42 EPS for the last quarter.

Deutsche Bank AG decreased its holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 43.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,497,363 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,153,938 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.50% of Graphic Packaging worth $38,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPK. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in Graphic Packaging in the first quarter worth $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in 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. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter worth $79,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 3,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter worth $161,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on GPK shares. UBS Group started coverage on Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Bank of America reduced their price target on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Friday, May 2nd. 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.38.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

GPK stock traded down $0.44 on Thursday, hitting $22.69. The company had a trading volume of 3,459,260 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,902,600. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 12-month low of $20.86 and a 12-month high of $30.70. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $22.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.05. The stock has a market cap of $6.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82, a P/E/G ratio of 7.82 and a beta of 0.73.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is presently 24.86%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In related news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 56,737 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.84, for a total transaction of $1,239,136.08. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.41% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.