Strs Ohio Purchases Shares of 65,847 Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK

Key Points

• Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company, purchasing 65,847 shares valued at approximately $1,709,000 in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors increased their stakes, with 99.67% of the stock now owned by such entities, highlighting growing confidence in the company.
• Graphic Packaging recently reported earnings of $0.42 per share, exceeding estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, contributing to a yield of 2.2%.

Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 65,847 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,709,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Graphic Packaging by 69.9% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,065 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging in the first quarter worth approximately $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position 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 last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter worth $64,000. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 11th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Graphic Packaging from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of GPK traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $19.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,853,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,757,363. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $22.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.10. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a fifty-two week low of $19.47 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02, a PEG ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

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

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is 24.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

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

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.