Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK Shares Acquired by Advocate Group LLC

Key Points

• Advocate Group LLC increased its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company by 16.2%, owning approximately 0.10% of the company, valued at $6.1 million.
• Insider sales included EVP Joseph P. Yost selling 30,000 shares and Director Philip R. Martens selling 56,737 shares, indicating significant insider activity.
• The company reported earnings of $0.42 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, while setting its FY 2025 guidance at 1.90-2.20 EPS.

Advocate Group LLC increased its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 16.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 290,184 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 40,466 shares during the quarter. Advocate Group LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Graphic Packaging worth $6,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 54.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,841 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 2,065 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 75.3% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 50,534 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,312,000 after acquiring an additional 21,708 shares during the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 3.1% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 221,927 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,761,000 after buying an additional 6,623 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 21.6% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 434,871 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,163,000 after buying an additional 77,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 2.7% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 35,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $912,000 after buying an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPK opened at $17.51 on Friday. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a fifty-two week low of $17.48 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.89, a P/E/G ratio of 6.02 and a beta of 0.74. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 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. On average, equities research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 15th. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is currently 24.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Graphic Packaging from $23.00 to $21.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Graphic Packaging from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $20.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $23.38.

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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