Swiss National Bank Trims Stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Swiss National Bank reduced its position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 590,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,500 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.20% of Graphic Packaging worth $16,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of GPK. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,460,161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $605,416,000 after purchasing an additional 2,294,688 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at $51,642,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,503,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $441,990,000 after acquiring an additional 1,702,764 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at $34,131,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at $25,669,000. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graphic Packaging Stock Up 0.1 %

Graphic Packaging stock opened at $26.22 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 1-year low of $25.13 and a 1-year high of $30.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $26.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.24.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.04). Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 25.96% and a net margin of 7.47%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. This is a boost from Graphic Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on GPK shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.70.

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.