Philip R. Martens Sells 7,015 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) Stock

Key Points

• Philip R. Martens, a director at Graphic Packaging Holding Company, sold 7,015 shares for $152,927, reducing his ownership by 20.74% while retaining 26,811 shares valued at approximately $584,479.80.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.11, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.0% and a payout ratio of 24.86%.
• Graphic Packaging's stock price increased by 1.3%, closing at $22.25, with a consensus target price of $26.38 from various analysts.

Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) Director Philip R. Martens sold 7,015 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.80, for a total transaction of $152,927.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,811 shares of the company's stock, valued at $584,479.80. The trade was a 20.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

GPK stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.77. The company had a trading volume of 2,452,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,735,325. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.86, a P/E/G ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 0.73. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a one year low of $20.86 and a one year high of $30.70. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $22.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.16.

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. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.13 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 21.13% and a net margin of 6.18%. Research analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

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

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of GPK. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 69.9% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,065 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 130.7% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Graphic Packaging by 1,356.1% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,791 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the first quarter worth about $42,000. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $26.00 price target (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.38.

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.