Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Shares Bought by Menard Financial Group LLC

Menard Financial Group LLC grew its position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 28.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,674 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,238 shares during the quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $385,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 22,443 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 3,910 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 53.1% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 132,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,260,000 after acquiring an additional 45,890 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 75.9% in the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,410 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 7,941 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,730,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $141,259,000 after purchasing an additional 328,258 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.20 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $31.15.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

GPK stock opened at $29.88 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $28.43 and a 200-day moving average of $27.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The company has a market cap of $8.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.52, a PEG ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 0.83. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 12-month low of $20.07 and a 12-month high of $30.66.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 30.74%. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 18.10%.

Insider Transactions at Graphic Packaging

In related news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $1,372,697.53. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,909,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,296,266.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Graphic Packaging news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $1,372,697.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,909,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,296,266.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $2,422,790.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,123,202 shares in the company, valued at $59,555,816.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

About Graphic Packaging

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.