Skylands Capital LLC Grows Stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

Skylands Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 207,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,450 shares during the quarter. Skylands Capital LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Graphic Packaging worth $5,392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also 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 4th 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 during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 92.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the period. Mizuho Bank Ltd. purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in 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 purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at $79,000. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. 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 note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set 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 objective on Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.40.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

GPK traded up $0.76 on Tuesday, hitting $21.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,374,154 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,609,854. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 12 month low of $20.86 and a 12 month high of $30.70. The firm has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.75 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $22.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.12.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 23.68% and a net margin of 7.15%. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. Graphic Packaging's revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is presently 21.46%.

Graphic Packaging declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 23.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are 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.