Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK Position Raised by Raymond James Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company by 41.4%, acquiring a total of 1,336,367 shares valued at approximately $34.7 million.
• Graphic Packaging reported a quarterly EPS of $0.42, exceeding expectations, and had revenues of $2.20 billion, surpassing analysts' estimates.
• The company announced a $1.50 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating management's belief that the shares are currently undervalued.

Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 41.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,336,367 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 391,264 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned 0.44% of Graphic Packaging worth $34,692,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 11.7% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,488,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $479,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,932,841 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 1.5% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 307,723 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $7,988,000 after purchasing an additional 4,511 shares in the last quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 8.2% in the first quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 366,486 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $9,514,000 after buying an additional 27,929 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 14.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,890,782 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $204,844,000 after buying an additional 1,018,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Trading Up 0.6%

Graphic Packaging stock opened at $23.0240 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $22.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 12 month low of $20.86 and a 12 month high of $30.70. The stock has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01, a P/E/G ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 0.73.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 21.13%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to reacquire up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is currently 24.86%.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In other news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 56,737 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director directly owned 33,826 shares in the company, valued at $738,759.84. The trade was a 62.65% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.38.

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.

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