Vanguard Group Inc. Has $795.81 Million Position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 3.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,655,111 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 929,764 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 10.16% of Graphic Packaging worth $795,807,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 42.3% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,125 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter worth approximately $79,000. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 554.5% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 3,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter worth approximately $161,000. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on GPK shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Bank of America lowered 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 note on Wednesday, July 9th. 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 target for the company. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $26.38.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Graphic Packaging stock traded down $0.13 on Friday, hitting $22.50. The company had a trading volume of 3,972,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,893,508. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a twelve month low of $20.86 and a twelve month high of $30.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $22.13 and a 200-day moving average of $23.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.71, a P/E/G ratio of 7.65 and a beta of 0.73. 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 (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 21.13%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. Research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 5th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.86%.

Graphic Packaging announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to buy up to 23.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 56,737 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.84, for a total transaction of $1,239,136.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,826 shares in the company, valued at approximately $738,759.84. This represents a 62.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.41% of the company's stock.

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.