Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 27,846 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company by 13.7% during Q1, owning 231,126 shares worth approximately $6 million.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, with a yield of 1.9% and a payout ratio of 24.86%.
• Graphic Packaging's board approved a $1.50 billion share buyback program, allowing the purchase of up to 23.3% of its stock, indicating a belief in the stock's undervaluation.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 13.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 231,126 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 27,846 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of Graphic Packaging worth $6,000,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 69.9% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,065 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of 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 valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 632 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the first quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graphic Packaging news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 7,015 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.80, for a total value of $152,927.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 26,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $584,479.80. The trade was a 20.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.41% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Graphic Packaging stock traded down $0.1590 on Monday, reaching $22.8810. 453,432 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,083,376. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 52 week low of $20.86 and a 52 week high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.83 and a beta of 0.73. The firm's 50-day moving average is $22.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.81.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during 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. Sell-side analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase 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 purchase up to 23.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is 24.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on GPK shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 target price (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.