Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) Director Philip R. Martens Sells 56,737 Shares

Key Points

• Philip R. Martens, a director at Graphic Packaging Holding Company, sold 56,737 shares of stock at an average price of $21.84, significantly reducing his ownership by 62.65%.
• The company is set to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.11 per share on October 5th, reflecting a 2.0% dividend yield.
• Graphic Packaging's board has authorized a $1.50 billion share repurchase plan, indicating that they believe the stock is currently undervalued.

Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) Director Philip R. Martens sold 56,737 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.84, for a total value of $1,239,136.08. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 33,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at $738,759.84. The trade was a 62.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 0.3%

GPK stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $22.77. 2,452,767 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,735,325. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a fifty-two week low of $20.86 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $22.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.16. The stock has a market cap of $6.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.86, a P/E/G ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 return on equity of 21.13% and a net margin of 6.18%. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 5th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is presently 24.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in Graphic Packaging during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in Graphic Packaging during the first quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 1,356.1% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,791 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPK has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Bank of America decreased their target price on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.