Geode Capital Management LLC Trims Stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Geode Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,005,217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 58,257 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $148,143,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in GPK. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 546.6% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 2nd quarter valued at about $88,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 57.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 1,564 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 13.7% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $152,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Graphic Packaging

In related news, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of Graphic Packaging 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,348,943.74. The trade was a 24.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total transaction of $355,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,022.85. This trade represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 1.2 %

Graphic Packaging stock opened at $29.02 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $29.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.58. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 1-year low of $23.47 and a 1-year high of $30.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40, a PEG ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.83. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 28.26% and a net margin of 7.99%. Graphic Packaging’s revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.74 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 15th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com lowered Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial cut Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.53.

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.