Markel Group Inc. Has $11.97 Million Stock Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

Markel Group Inc. grew its holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 8.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 461,225 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 34,000 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. owned 0.15% of Graphic Packaging worth $11,973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 75.3% during 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 buying an additional 21,708 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System boosted 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 worth $5,761,000 after acquiring an additional 6,623 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted 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 worth $912,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 194,467 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,282,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 70,831 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 17,183 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

GPK traded up $0.00 on Monday, reaching $22.45. The stock had a trading volume of 1,763,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,639,806. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $6.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 0.71. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a fifty-two week low of $20.86 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.16 and a 200-day moving average of $24.62.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.05). Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.15% and a return on equity of 23.68%. The business had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, July 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GPK. 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of 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, UBS Group began coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.