LPL Financial LLC Decreases Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC has reduced its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company by 9.6%, now holding approximately $2.89 million worth of shares.
• The company reported earnings of $0.42 per share for its last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.40, with a revenue of $2.20 billion.
• Graphic Packaging's Board of Directors authorized a $1.50 billion stock buyback plan, indicating management's belief that its shares are undervalued, along with a quarterly dividend payment of $0.11 per share.

LPL Financial LLC decreased its position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 9.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 111,424 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 11,802 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $2,893,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 42.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,125 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at about $79,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 554.5% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 3,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at about $161,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

GPK traded up $0.1340 on Friday, reaching $23.0240. The company had a trading volume of 5,052,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,958,616. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a fifty-two week low of $20.86 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The stock has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.01, a P/E/G ratio of 7.78 and a beta of 0.73. The company's fifty day moving average is $22.21 and its 200 day moving average is $23.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.43.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.02. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 21.13%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Graphic Packaging has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.900-2.20 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 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 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.86%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane downgraded Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.38.

Insider Transactions at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 7,015 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.80, for a total transaction of $152,927.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $584,479.80. The trade was a 20.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.41% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.