Avanza Fonder AB Takes $190,000 Position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 7,006 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $190,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 546.6% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the third quarter worth $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the third quarter valued at $73,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Graphic Packaging by 57.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graphic Packaging Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:GPK opened at $27.99 on Monday. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 52-week low of $23.47 and a 52-week high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.96, a P/E/G ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $28.29 and its 200-day moving average is $28.57.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 28.26%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, January 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on GPK. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.37.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In other news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total transaction of $355,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 49,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,022.85. This trade represents a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total value of $750,841.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,026 shares in the company, valued at $2,348,943.74. The trade was a 24.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Company 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.