Janus Henderson Group PLC Trims Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Janus Henderson Group PLC reduced its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,513,470 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 184,042 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 0.50% of Graphic Packaging worth $41,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GPK. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 920.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,176,187 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $113,425,000 after purchasing an additional 3,767,011 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter worth approximately $98,268,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 735.3% during 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 during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,642,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 11.5% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,503,189 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $441,990,000 after acquiring an additional 1,702,764 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on GPK. Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 target price (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.17.

Graphic Packaging Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:GPK opened at $23.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.02 billion, a PE ratio of 10.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 1 year low of $20.86 and a 1 year high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The firm's 50-day moving average is $24.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.84.

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

Graphic Packaging declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to repurchase up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is 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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