Quantbot Technologies LP Buys 19,219 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP significantly increased its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company, boosting its holdings by 106.2% to a total of 37,311 shares valued at approximately $969,000.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Victory Capital Management Inc. and American Century Companies Inc., have also substantially increased their positions in Graphic Packaging during the first quarter.
• Graphic Packaging recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, and set a share repurchase program of $1.50 billion to buy back outstanding shares.

Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 106.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,311 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,219 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP's holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $969,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 69.9% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,065 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter valued at $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 42.3% during the 1st 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, Summit Securities Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter worth $64,000. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Graphic Packaging

In other news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total transaction of $681,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 255,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,798,212.16. This trade represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Philip R. Martens sold 7,015 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.80, for a total value of $152,927.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at $584,479.80. This trade represents a 20.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 93,752 shares of company stock valued at $2,073,663 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.41% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Up 0.3%

GPK stock traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $22.25. The stock had a trading volume of 3,335,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,393,389. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 1-year low of $20.86 and a 1-year high of $30.70. The company has a fifty day moving average of $22.33 and a 200 day moving average of $23.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.57, a PEG ratio of 7.54 and a beta of 0.73.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.02. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 21.13% and a net margin of 6.18%.The company had revenue of $2.20 billion during 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. On average, equities analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 repurchase up to 23.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPK has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on 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 set a $26.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group initiated coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.38.

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.