Eminence Capital LP Sells 2,534,444 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK

Key Points

• Eminence Capital LP sold 2,534,444 shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company ($GPK), reducing its stake by 43.5% to 3,290,428 shares, valued at approximately $85.4 million.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 2.1%, with a payout ratio of 24.86%.
• Graphic Packaging reported earnings of $0.42 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.40.

Eminence Capital LP reduced its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 43.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,290,428 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,534,444 shares during the period. Eminence Capital LP owned 1.09% of Graphic Packaging worth $85,420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,535 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $299,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 69.9% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,065 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC now owns 11,770 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 8,480 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 30,986 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $808,000 after buying an additional 563 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In related news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total value of $681,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 255,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,798,212.16. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Philip R. Martens sold 56,737 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.84, for a total value of $1,239,136.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $738,759.84. The trade was a 62.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 93,752 shares of company stock worth $2,073,663. 1.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPK traded down $0.48 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $21.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,220,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,141,865. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 12-month low of $20.65 and a 12-month high of $30.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $22.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89, a PEG ratio of 7.31 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

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

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on GPK shares. UBS Group started coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.38.

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.