Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Shares Sold by Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA

Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA lessened its holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,818 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,034 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $2,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,503,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $441,990,000 after purchasing an additional 1,702,764 shares during the last quarter. Regents Gate Capital LLP acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at $6,286,000. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 84.3% in the 4th quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 40,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,096,000 after purchasing an additional 18,458 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 14.3% in the 4th quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 347,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,442,000 after purchasing an additional 43,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 25,448 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 908 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,022.85. This represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on GPK shares. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com lowered Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.70.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPK opened at $26.61 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $27.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 1-year low of $23.47 and a 1-year high of $30.70. The company has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.84.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.04). Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 25.96% and a net margin of 7.47%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. Graphic Packaging’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 15th will be issued a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. This is an increase from Graphic Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.52%.

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.