JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 1,107,905 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company by 11.5%, selling over 1.1 million shares, while still holding approximately 2.82% of the company's stock valued at $220.5 million.
• Graphic Packaging recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, representing a 1.9% yield, with a dividend payout ratio of 24.86%.
• The company reported earnings of $0.42 per share for its last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and plans to repurchase $1.5 billion in outstanding shares, indicating confidence in its current valuation.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lessened its position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 11.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,495,167 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 1,107,905 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 2.82% of Graphic Packaging worth $220,535,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in GPK. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1,004.9% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,240,697 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $239,888,000 after purchasing an additional 8,404,340 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 735.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,446,843 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $66,456,000 after buying an additional 2,153,925 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,669,000. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 783.7% during the 4th quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,059,988 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,789,000 after buying an additional 940,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,655,111 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $795,807,000 after buying an additional 929,764 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 7,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.80, for a total transaction of $152,927.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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 the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.41% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of GPK traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $22.44. The stock had a trading volume of 1,077,009 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,080,398. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.56. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 12 month low of $20.86 and a 12 month high of $30.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.67, a PEG ratio of 7.65 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $22.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.96.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.02. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 21.13% and a net margin of 6.18%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is 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 issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is currently 24.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. 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 objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Bank of America cut their price target 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average 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.