Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Position Reduced by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,732,100 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 169,300 shares during the period. Graphic Packaging accounts for approximately 1.5% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.57% of Graphic Packaging worth $44,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GPK. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,086,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 24,606 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $692,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 9,231 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 241,302 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $6,554,000 after purchasing an additional 14,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 113,423 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,081,000 after purchasing an additional 7,453 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 2.6%

GPK traded down $0.56 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $21.11. 3,302,155 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,561,945. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $23.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.82. The company has a market cap of $6.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.74. Graphic Packaging Holding has a fifty-two week low of $20.86 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

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

Graphic Packaging declared that its board has approved a share buyback 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 often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on GPK shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price target (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.53.

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.