Impax Asset Management Group plc Lowers Stock Position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Impax Asset Management Group plc trimmed its position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 8.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,698,159 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 503,145 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned approximately 1.86% of Graphic Packaging worth $139,570,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 870.7% in the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,291 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,158 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 39.6% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 44.2% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,476 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 759 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 70,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total transaction of $1,834,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 205,231 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,377,052.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPK traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.41. 2,914,412 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,921,464. The company has a market cap of $9.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 0.84. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $26.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 1.10. Graphic Packaging Holding has a twelve month low of $20.07 and a twelve month high of $29.50.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.67% and a return on equity of 35.66%. The company's revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 17.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "underweight" rating and issued a $21.00 price target on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.44.

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.