Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) Shares Sold by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lowered its holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 86.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,657 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 137,008 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $536,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GPK. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 194,467 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,282,000 after buying an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 836,357 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $22,715,000 after buying an additional 68,956 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 70,831 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,924,000 after acquiring an additional 17,183 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at $229,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 92.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of Graphic Packaging stock traded up $0.38 on Wednesday, reaching $22.45. 3,228,052 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,614,434. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 1-year low of $20.86 and a 1-year high of $30.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.80. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $22.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.77 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.71.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, July 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 15th were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.46%.

Graphic Packaging declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 23.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial dropped their price target on 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. BNP Paribas Exane cut shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price target for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $28.36.

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.