Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. Sells 15,925 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

Key Points

• Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. reduced its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company by 1.4%, holding approximately 1,128,235 shares worth $29.3 million at the end of the last quarter.
• Victory Capital Management significantly increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 1,004.9%, now owning 9.2 million shares valued at $239.9 million.
• Graphic Packaging recently declared a $0.11 quarterly dividend with an annual yield of 1.96% and announced a stock buyback program allowing repurchase of up to $1.50 billion in shares.

Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. lowered its holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,128,235 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 15,925 shares during the quarter. Letko Brosseau & Associates Inc. owned 0.37% of Graphic Packaging worth $29,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,600,941 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $396,562,000 after acquiring an additional 788,066 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Graphic Packaging by 8.2% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,351,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $268,717,000 after buying an additional 781,509 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $239,888,000 after acquiring an additional 8,404,340 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,872,765 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $186,666,000 after purchasing an additional 414,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eminence Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 5,824,872 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $158,204,000 after purchasing an additional 418,013 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of GPK stock traded down $0.87 on Friday, reaching $21.49. The company had a trading volume of 5,163,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,067,831. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The business's 50-day moving average is $22.11 and its 200 day moving average is $24.42. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a one year low of $20.86 and a one year high of $30.70.

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

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 5th. Shareholders 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 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.86%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on GPK shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Bank of America decreased 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 note on Wednesday, July 9th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group started coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average 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.