Van ECK Associates Corp Raises Stock Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 2,265.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 223,687 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 214,230 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.07% of Graphic Packaging worth $5,514,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 870.7% during the third quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,291 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,158 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 39.6% during 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. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $55,000 after buying an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on GPK. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com lowered Graphic Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "underweight" rating and issued a $21.00 target price on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Graphic Packaging from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.13.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPK traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $27.09. 3,180,953 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,705,939. The company has a market capitalization of $8.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 0.86. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $27.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 52-week low of $20.07 and a 52-week high of $29.50.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.03. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.36% and a return on equity of 32.55%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.38 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.69 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. Graphic Packaging's payout ratio is 18.10%.

Insider Activity

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

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.