NorthRock Partners LLC Has $808,000 Position in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK)

NorthRock Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) by 1.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 30,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $808,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Graphic Packaging by 75.3% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 50,534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 21,708 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 221,927 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,761,000 after acquiring an additional 6,623 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 35,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $912,000 after acquiring an additional 935 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 194,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,282,000 after acquiring an additional 608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 7.2% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,777 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

NYSE:GPK opened at $22.51 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.47. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 52 week low of $20.86 and a 52 week high of $30.70. The stock has a market cap of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.02. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 21.13% and a net margin of 6.18%. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.13 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, July 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, June 15th were given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.86%.

Graphic Packaging declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPK has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. BNP Paribas Exane lowered Graphic Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.38.

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.