Kennedy Capital Management LLC Sells 68,579 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 14.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 405,729 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 68,579 shares during the quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Graphic Packaging worth $11,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 381.0% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 48,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,191,000 after buying an additional 38,279 shares during the period. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter worth about $64,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 21,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 2,003 shares during the period. Carmel Capital Management L.L.C. lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Carmel Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 364,625 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,988,000 after buying an additional 11,600 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Insight Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 31,335 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $772,000 after buying an additional 2,800 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of GPK stock traded up $1.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $29.09. 7,942,945 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,706,519. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.94 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.15 and a beta of 0.85. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 12 month low of $20.07 and a 12 month high of $29.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.98.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.03. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 32.55% and a net margin of 7.36%. The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.38 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.69 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 18.10%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on GPK shares. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.20 price objective for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “underweight” rating and set a $21.00 target price on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $29.03.

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.