Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 16,098 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Wright Investors Service Inc. cut its position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 46.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,692 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 16,098 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in GPK. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 102.6% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 9,983,556 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $291,320,000 after purchasing an additional 5,055,359 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Graphic Packaging by 41.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,115,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,549,000 after acquiring an additional 3,576,877 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,600,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $251,632,000 after acquiring an additional 706,486 shares during the period. L1 Capital International Pty Ltd bought a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at $16,039,000. Finally, Greenlight Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 32.0% in the 4th quarter. Greenlight Capital Inc. now owns 2,536,100 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $62,515,000 after purchasing an additional 614,490 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Trading Up 0.6 %

GPK stock traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $28.79. 1,511,421 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,524,962. The company has a 50-day moving average of $29.10 and a 200-day moving average of $28.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.45. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 1 year low of $20.07 and a 1 year high of $30.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03, a P/E/G ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 0.83.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 30.74% and a net margin of 7.93%. The firm had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.66 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 15th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 18.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

GPK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.20 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $35.00 price objective (up from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.15.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,909,576 shares in the company, valued at $53,296,266.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $2,422,790.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,123,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,555,816.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $1,372,697.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,909,576 shares in the company, valued at $53,296,266.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.