Howard Capital Management Group LLC Purchases 13,175 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,021,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,175 shares during the period. Graphic Packaging accounts for about 1.9% of Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $27,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 546.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the third quarter worth $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the third quarter valued at about $73,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 1,564 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 13.7% during the second 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. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In other news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total value of $355,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,022.85. This trade represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total value of $750,841.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,026 shares in the company, valued at $2,348,943.74. The trade was a 24.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

GPK stock opened at $28.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $28.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.61. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 1 year low of $23.47 and a 1 year high of $30.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last released its earnings results 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 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 company’s revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, January 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 17.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.37.

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.