Markel Group Inc. Increases Position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

Markel Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 8.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 461,225 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 34,000 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. owned 0.15% of Graphic Packaging worth $11,973,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,535 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 11,163 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 4.1% during the first 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 lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 6.4% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 8,480 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 194,467 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,282,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James Financial restated 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. Bank of America dropped their target price 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. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.38.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPK traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $22.44. 3,481,144 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,643,326. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $22.16 and a 200 day moving average of $24.64. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 1 year low of $20.86 and a 1 year high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 0.71.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.14 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 23.68% and a net margin of 7.15%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.66 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

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

Graphic Packaging declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to purchase up to 23.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Graphic Packaging 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.