Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 25.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 427,069 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 146,099 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.14% of Graphic Packaging worth $11,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its position in Graphic Packaging by 55.4% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Graphic Packaging by 2,484.0% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 92.7% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 58.2% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

GPK opened at $25.14 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $26.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $27.92. Graphic Packaging Holding has a fifty-two week low of $24.50 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The firm has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 25.96% and a net margin of 7.47%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.75 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. This is a positive change from Graphic Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on GPK. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.37.

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.