Pullen Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Pullen Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 90,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,952 shares during the quarter. Graphic Packaging accounts for approximately 1.9% of Pullen Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Pullen Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $2,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Graphic Packaging by 546.6% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the first quarter worth $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 868 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Graphic Packaging in the second quarter valued at about $88,000. Finally, LGT Group Foundation acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the first quarter worth about $134,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reduced their target price 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. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com lowered Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on Graphic Packaging in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.20 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.87.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

GPK opened at $29.66 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68, a P/E/G ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.83. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 12 month low of $20.69 and a 12 month high of $30.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.17.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 30.74% and a net margin of 7.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.65 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 15th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is currently 17.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $1,372,697.53. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,909,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,296,266.16. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $2,422,790.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,123,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,555,816.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $53,296,266.16. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Company 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.