Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Sells 41,810 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 41.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 59,759 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 41,810 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $1,551,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of GPK. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 55.4% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,105 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 689 shares during the period. Mizuho Bank Ltd. bought a new position in Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter worth about $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter worth $79,000. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group began coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target 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. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.40.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of GPK stock traded down $0.12 on Thursday, hitting $21.91. The stock had a trading volume of 1,874,809 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,608,640. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 12-month low of $20.86 and a 12-month high of $30.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $22.44 and a 200 day moving average of $25.10. The stock has a market cap of $6.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2.12 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

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

Graphic Packaging announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign 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.