Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 27.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 416,205 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 155,097 shares during the period. Graphic Packaging accounts for about 2.5% of Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC owned about 0.14% of Graphic Packaging worth $10,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,725,347 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $807,340,000 after acquiring an additional 145,209 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 16,555,660 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $449,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,295 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $396,562,000 after purchasing an additional 788,066 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 6.4% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Eminence Capital LP grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 5,824,872 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $158,204,000 after buying an additional 418,013 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graphic Packaging Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of GPK stock traded down $0.16 on Friday, reaching $21.01. 5,079,319 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,618,901. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $22.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.34 billion, a PE ratio of 10.25, a P/E/G ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 52 week low of $20.86 and a 52 week high of $30.70.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.14 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.15% and a return on equity of 23.68%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.46%.

Graphic Packaging announced that its board has authorized 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group assumed coverage on Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.40.

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.