UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC Buys 591,409 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK

Key Points

• UBS AM, a division of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC, increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 42.5%, now owning nearly 1.98 million shares valued at about $51.5 million.
• Graphic Packaging recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, which translates to an annual yield of 2.1%, emphasizing their commitment to shareholder returns.
• Despite recent interest from institutional investors, Graphic Packaging's stock has decreased by 1.6%, with current trading around $20.73, reflecting ongoing market volatility.

UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 42.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,983,665 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 591,409 shares during the quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC owned approximately 0.66% of Graphic Packaging worth $51,496,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,655,111 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $795,807,000 after acquiring an additional 929,764 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 11.7% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,488,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $479,962,000 after purchasing an additional 1,932,841 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 8.2% in the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 10,351,192 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $268,717,000 after purchasing an additional 781,509 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 1,004.9% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,240,697 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $239,888,000 after buying an additional 8,404,340 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 14.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,890,782 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $204,844,000 after buying an additional 1,018,017 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.00.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In other news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 255,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,798,212.16. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Philip R. Martens sold 56,737 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.84, for a total value of $1,239,136.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 33,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at $738,759.84. This represents a 62.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 93,752 shares of company stock valued at $2,073,663 over the last 90 days. 1.41% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE GPK traded down $0.45 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $19.51. 8,853,765 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,757,363. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 1 year low of $19.47 and a 1 year high of $30.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $22.03 and a 200 day moving average of $23.10.

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. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 21.13%. Graphic Packaging has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.900-2.20 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

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

Graphic Packaging 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.