UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Purchases New Stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK

Key Points

• UniSuper Management Pty Ltd has invested approximately $1.29 million in Graphic Packaging Holding Company by purchasing 49,542 shares in the first quarter.
• Insiders have recently sold a total of 93,752 shares of Graphic Packaging stock, valued at $2,073,663, with a significant decrease in positions noted among executives.
• Graphic Packaging has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share, representing an annualized yield of 2.1% and a payout ratio of 24.86%.

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 49,542 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $1,286,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 3.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,655,111 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $795,807,000 after purchasing an additional 929,764 shares during the last quarter. 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. raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1,004.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 8,404,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 14.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,018,017 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $26.38.

Insider Transactions at Graphic Packaging

In other news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 7,015 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the director owned 26,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $584,479.80. The trade was a 20.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 255,203 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,798,212.16. The trade was a 10.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 93,752 shares of company stock valued at $2,073,663. 1.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

GPK stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $20.34. 3,190,772 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,444,933. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $22.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.20. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a one year low of $20.10 and a one year high of $30.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.87 and a beta of 0.75.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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. Equities research analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is presently 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.