Impax Asset Management Group plc Sells 378,238 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

Impax Asset Management Group plc decreased its holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,141,459 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 378,238 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned about 1.04% of Graphic Packaging worth $80,813,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 920.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,176,187 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $113,425,000 after buying an additional 3,767,011 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter worth about $98,268,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 735.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,446,843 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $66,456,000 after buying an additional 2,153,925 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 16,555,660 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $449,652,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206,295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,669,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on GPK shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 target price (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.40.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

GPK stock traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $22.07. 2,996,768 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,609,238. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $22.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 1.88. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 52 week low of $20.86 and a 52 week high of $30.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a PE ratio of 10.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.71.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.05). The firm 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 15th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.46%.

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

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.