Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Raises Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 257.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,471 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 12,577 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 55.4% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,105 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 2,484.0% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 92.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Graphic Packaging by 58.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,493 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. 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. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Graphic Packaging from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $29.17.

Graphic Packaging Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of GPK traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $21.84. The company had a trading volume of 7,739,591 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,459,055. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $25.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11, a P/E/G 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 quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.46.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 25.96%. Graphic Packaging's revenue for the quarter was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 15th were issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. This is an increase from Graphic Packaging's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio is presently 20.37%.

Graphic Packaging declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the industrial products company to repurchase up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.