Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Position Cut by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 5.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 98,602 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 6,167 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $2,678,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of GPK. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the third quarter valued at $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 2,484.0% during the fourth 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 during the period. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 58.2% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the third quarter valued at $73,000. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

NYSE GPK opened at $27.03 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $27.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company has a market cap of $8.11 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.84. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 1 year low of $24.93 and a 1 year high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 25.96% and a net margin of 7.47%. Graphic Packaging’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.75 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Graphic Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 18.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total transaction of $355,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 49,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,022.85. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GPK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lowered 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. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.70.

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.