HighTower Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK

HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) by 0.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 223,955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.07% of Graphic Packaging worth $5,814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 42.3% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter worth $79,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 554.5% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 3,083 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 8,480 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 512 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging news, Director Philip R. Martens sold 7,015 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.80, for a total value of $152,927.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 26,811 shares in the company, valued at approximately $584,479.80. This represents a 20.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.41% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

GPK stock opened at $22.7470 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $22.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.92. The company has a market capitalization of $6.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 7.58 and a beta of 0.73. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 1-year low of $20.86 and a 1-year high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.02. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 21.13%. The business had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. Graphic Packaging has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.900-2.20 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the industrial products company to purchase up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 5th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on GPK shares. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 11th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $26.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.38.

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.