Brokerages Set Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) Price Target at $26.38

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 research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $26.3750.

Several research firms have recently commented on GPK. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Graphic Packaging from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 11th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In related 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 transaction of $152,927.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Graphic Packaging

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 75.3% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 50,534 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,312,000 after buying an additional 21,708 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 3.1% during the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 221,927 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,761,000 after buying an additional 6,623 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 35,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $912,000 after purchasing an additional 935 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 0.3% during 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 during the period. Finally, IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 23.3% in the first quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 98,889 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,567,000 after purchasing an additional 18,668 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graphic Packaging Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE GPK traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, 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 current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.56 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 price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $22.07 and a 200 day moving average of $24.16. Graphic Packaging has a 1-year low of $20.86 and a 1-year high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is currently 24.86%.

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.