Insider Selling: Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) Director Sells 56,737 Shares of Stock

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 stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.84, for a total value of $1,239,136.08. Following the sale, the director owned 33,826 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $738,759.84. This represents a 62.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Graphic Packaging Trading Up 1.4%

GPK traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $22.27. 1,768,795 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,052,830. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a one year low of $20.86 and a one year high of $30.70. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $6.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a PEG ratio of 7.27 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $22.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.30.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

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

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 69.9% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,065 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 130.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 783 shares during the period. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the first quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,668 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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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