abrdn plc Reduces Position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

abrdn plc decreased its position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 16.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,448,336 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 291,327 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned 0.48% of Graphic Packaging worth $39,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 12.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,460,161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $605,416,000 after purchasing an additional 2,294,688 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 24.7% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,800,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $437,945,000 after purchasing an additional 2,927,344 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 8.0% in the third 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. Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 9.6% in the third quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 3,441,614 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,545,000 after purchasing an additional 302,680 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,642,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of GPK stock opened at $26.43 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $27.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.63. The company has a market cap of $7.93 billion, a PE ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 12-month low of $23.47 and a 12-month high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.04). The business 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 28.26% and a net margin of 7.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 15th will be given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. This is an increase from Graphic Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.09%.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In related news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,022.85. This represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GPK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.70.

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.