Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Graphic Packaging Holding Company has received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from nine brokerage firms, with an average one-year price target of $26.3750.
• Insider trading activity shows Director Philip R. Martens sold 7,015 shares at an average price of $21.80, decreasing his ownership by 20.74%.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.11, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.0%, with a low dividend payout ratio of 24.86%.

Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.3750.

GPK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th.

Insider Transactions at Graphic Packaging

In other news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 7,015 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was 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 $584,479.80. This trade represents a 20.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position 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 worth $239,888,000 after purchasing an additional 8,404,340 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 735.3% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,446,843 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $66,456,000 after buying an additional 2,153,925 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,488,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $479,962,000 after buying an additional 1,932,841 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 11,000.0% during the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,299,806 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $33,743,000 after acquiring an additional 1,288,096 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 7.7% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 17,636,296 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $385,353,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264,922 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of GPK opened at $21.90 on Thursday. Graphic Packaging has a one year low of $20.86 and a one year high of $30.70. The stock's fifty day moving average is $22.05 and its 200-day moving average is $24.26. 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 market capitalization of $6.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.52 and a beta of 0.73.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to repurchase up to 23.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 5th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.86%.

Graphic Packaging Company 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.

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