Fmr LLC Purchases 2,294,688 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Fmr LLC grew its position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 12.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,460,161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,294,688 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned approximately 6.82% of Graphic Packaging worth $605,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. PEAK6 Investments LLC raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 119.5% during the first quarter. PEAK6 Investments LLC now owns 7,295 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 44,781 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 21.5% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 35,962 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 6,356 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 3.6% during the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 176,418 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,148,000 after acquiring an additional 6,186 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 99.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 104,490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,049,000 after acquiring an additional 52,139 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Graphic Packaging stock opened at $30.01 on Friday. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 12 month low of $22.12 and a 12 month high of $30.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $29.13 and its 200-day moving average is $28.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The company has a market capitalization of $9.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82, a PEG ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 0.83.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 28.26%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.74 EPS. Graphic Packaging’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 15th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 17.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 49,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,478,022.85. This represents a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total value of $750,841.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,026 shares in the company, valued at $2,348,943.74. This represents a 24.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.