Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC Sells 15,505 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 571,302 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,505 shares during the quarter. Graphic Packaging accounts for about 3.3% of Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC owned about 0.19% of Graphic Packaging worth $15,552,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,610,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $313,957,000 after purchasing an additional 787,266 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,021,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,734,000 after buying an additional 13,175 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 23.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 707,969 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,949,000 after acquiring an additional 136,342 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 26.1% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 27,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $816,000 after acquiring an additional 5,699 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the 3rd quarter valued at $886,000. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of GPK stock opened at $27.31 on Monday. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 52-week low of $23.47 and a 52-week high of $30.70. The stock has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $28.19 and its 200-day moving average is $28.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.73.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 28.26%. Graphic Packaging’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.09%.

Insider Activity

In other Graphic Packaging news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,478,022.85. This represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,348,943.74. The trade was a 24.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

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.