12th Street Asset Management Company LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

12th Street Asset Management Company LLC lowered its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 18.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,135,909 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 255,218 shares during the quarter. Graphic Packaging makes up 5.1% of 12th Street Asset Management Company LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. 12th Street Asset Management Company LLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $30,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 2,484.0% in the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 92.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 58.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

NYSE:GPK opened at $26.19 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.86 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. Graphic Packaging Holding has a twelve month low of $25.13 and a twelve month high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 25.96%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Graphic Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective (down from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.70.

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.