Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Stock Position Lessened by Shapiro Capital Management LLC

Shapiro Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 5.2% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,591,947 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 364,502 shares during the period. Graphic Packaging accounts for 5.2% of Shapiro Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its biggest position. Shapiro Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $172,775,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in GPK. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the first quarter valued at $26,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new position in Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GPK. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price target (up previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.15.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In other news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $2,422,790.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,123,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,555,816.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Graphic Packaging news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $2,422,790.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,123,202 shares in the company, valued at $59,555,816.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $1,372,697.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,909,576 shares in the company, valued at $53,296,266.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

NYSE:GPK opened at $29.06 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a PE ratio of 13.15, a P/E/G ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $28.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.99. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 52 week low of $20.07 and a 52 week high of $30.66.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 30.74% and a net margin of 7.93%. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is 18.10%.

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.