Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Position Lessened by Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 17.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 357,709 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 76,821 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned 0.12% of Graphic Packaging worth $9,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in GPK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Graphic Packaging by 8.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,610,233 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $313,957,000 after purchasing an additional 787,266 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 0.3% in 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. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 836,357 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $22,715,000 after acquiring an additional 68,956 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 70,831 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,924,000 after buying an additional 17,183 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter valued at about $229,000. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on GPK shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.53.

Graphic Packaging Trading Down 2.6%

GPK traded down $0.56 on Friday, hitting $21.11. The company had a trading volume of 3,302,155 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,560,826. The company's fifty day moving average price is $23.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.85. The firm has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.77, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.74. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 1 year low of $20.86 and a 1 year high of $30.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 25.96%. The firm's revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is 21.46%.

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

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.