Citigroup Inc. Trims Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. significantly reduced its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company by 73.6%, now holding approximately 399,818 shares, valued at about $10.38 million.
• The company announced a $1.50 billion stock repurchase program, allowing for the buyback of up to 23.3% of its shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• Graphic Packaging recently reported earnings of $0.42 EPS, exceeding estimates, and has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, representing a yield of 2.0%.

Citigroup Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 73.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 399,818 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,116,511 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned about 0.13% of Graphic Packaging worth $10,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of GPK. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Graphic Packaging by 42.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,125 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter worth about $79,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in Graphic Packaging by 554.5% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 3,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter worth about $161,000. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GPK shares. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 7,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.41% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Trading Up 1.3%

GPK stock traded up $0.2850 during trading on Thursday, reaching $22.8650. 2,927,581 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,952,657. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.88. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 1 year low of $20.86 and a 1 year high of $30.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92, a P/E/G ratio of 7.67 and a beta of 0.73.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.02. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 21.13%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for 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. On average, research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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 paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is 24.86%.

Graphic Packaging announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan 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 repurchase up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.