Hsbc Holdings PLC Buys 40,116 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 335.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,065 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 40,116 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $1,414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 55.4% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,105 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 2,484.0% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 92.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 689 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 58.2% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,493 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial cut their target price on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $30.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $29.17.

Graphic Packaging Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE:GPK opened at $21.84 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81. Graphic Packaging Holding has a twelve month low of $20.86 and a twelve month high of $30.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.21.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.14 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 25.96%. Graphic Packaging's quarterly revenue was down 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. This is an increase from Graphic Packaging's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.37%.

Graphic Packaging declared that its board has initiated a share 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 reacquire up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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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