Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Shares Sold by tru Independence LLC

tru Independence LLC lowered its holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 166,767 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 11,270 shares during the quarter. tru Independence LLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $4,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. KBC Group NV grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 11.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 29,844 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 3,039 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 8,309 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $226,000 after acquiring an additional 1,070 shares during the period. Advocate Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 226,399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,149,000 after purchasing an additional 28,703 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,169,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Graphic Packaging stock opened at $27.51 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $8.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.65. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 1-year low of $23.47 and a 1-year high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 28.26%. The company’s revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. Analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 15th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 17.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.37.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total transaction of $750,841.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,348,943.74. This represents a 24.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total value of $355,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,022.85. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.