117,498 Shares in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Purchased by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 117,498 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $2,896,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 2.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,127,808 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $574,983,000 after purchasing an additional 566,205 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 2.6% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 15,105,236 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $302,709,000 after purchasing an additional 377,055 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 5.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,681,314 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $282,540,000 after purchasing an additional 628,663 shares during the period. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 10.3% in the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,207,562 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $271,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138,587 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 67.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,133,955 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $225,785,000 after purchasing an additional 4,074,508 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company's stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 2.3 %

GPK stock traded down $0.66 during trading on Friday, reaching $27.78. 1,701,026 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,888,533. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 12 month low of $20.07 and a 12 month high of $29.50. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.54. The company has a market capitalization of $8.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 0.84. 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 (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 35.66% and a net margin of 7.67%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is presently 17.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graphic Packaging news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 70,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $1,834,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 205,231 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,377,052.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Graphic Packaging 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.