Citigroup Inc. Has $10.38 Million Position 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. cut its position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 73.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 399,818 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,116,511 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.13% of Graphic Packaging worth $10,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 3.6% in the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,535 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $299,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 465 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 6.4% during 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 period. NorthRock Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1.9% during the first quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 30,986 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $808,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the period. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 194,467 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,282,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.38.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Graphic Packaging stock traded down $0.1450 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $22.6050. 672,459 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,081,760. The firm has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a P/E/G ratio of 7.58 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $22.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.92. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 1-year low of $20.86 and a 1-year high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 21.13%. Graphic Packaging has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.900-2.20 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is currently 24.86%.

Graphic Packaging declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 56,737 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $738,759.84. The trade was a 62.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.