Natixis Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Natixis Advisors LLC cut its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 555 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $2,195,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the first quarter worth about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Graphic Packaging by 46.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $88,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in Graphic Packaging by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Graphic Packaging news, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,026 shares in the company, valued at $2,348,943.74. This represents a 24.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

GPK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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 boosted their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com downgraded Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Truist Financial cut shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.53.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Graphic Packaging stock opened at $29.28 on Monday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $29.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.51, a P/E/G ratio of 11.20 and a beta of 0.83. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 1 year low of $22.12 and a 1 year high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 28.26% and a net margin of 7.99%. Graphic Packaging’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 17.09%.

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.