Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC decreased its position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 84.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,570 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 129,921 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 55.4% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,105 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Graphic Packaging by 92.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 689 shares during the period. Mizuho Bank Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 42.3% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,125 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter worth $79,000. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:GPK traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $21.91. 1,874,809 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,614,099. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.05. The company has a market capitalization of $6.61 billion, a PE ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.71. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a fifty-two week low of $20.86 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. 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 (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 (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 return on equity of 23.68% and a net margin of 7.15%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on GPK shares. UBS Group assumed coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial decreased 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.40.

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.