Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $204.84 Million Position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company by 14.8% during the first quarter, holding approximately 7.89 million shares valued at $204.8 million.
• Graphic Packaging announced a $1.50 billion share repurchase program, allowing it to reacquire up to 23.3% of its shares, a move often seen as a sign of management believing the shares are undervalued.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.0%, reflecting a dividend payout ratio of 24.86%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 14.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,890,782 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 1,018,017 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 2.61% of Graphic Packaging worth $204,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter valued at about $16,017,000. Fiduciary Family Office LLC acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter valued at about $559,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 52.6% during the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 139,715 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,627,000 after buying an additional 48,176 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 41,509 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 5,728 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In related news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 56,737 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director owned 33,826 shares in the company, valued at $738,759.84. This trade represents a 62.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.41% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Truist Financial decreased their target price 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. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.38.

Graphic Packaging Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE GPK traded up $0.1340 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $23.0240. The company had a trading volume of 5,052,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,065,220. 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 twelve month low of $20.86 and a twelve month high of $30.70. The stock's 50 day moving average is $22.21 and its 200-day moving average is $23.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.82 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 0.73.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.02. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 21.13%. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. Graphic Packaging has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.900-2.20 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

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 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.86%.

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.