Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. Sells 196,098 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. lessened its holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 34.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 365,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 196,098 shares during the quarter. Coronation Fund Managers Ltd. owned about 0.12% of Graphic Packaging worth $9,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging in the first quarter worth about $26,000. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the first quarter worth approximately $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 46.3% during the second 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 last quarter. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Graphic Packaging during the second quarter valued at approximately $88,000. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Trading Up 0.5 %

Graphic Packaging stock opened at $29.74 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 12-month low of $20.07 and a 12-month high of $30.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.45, a P/E/G ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 0.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.98 and a 200 day moving average of $28.05.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 30.74%. Graphic Packaging’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.66 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.10%.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,123,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,555,816.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,296,266.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,123,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,555,816.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GPK. 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. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on Graphic Packaging in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.20 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $31.15.

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.