Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Shares Sold by Cozad Asset Management Inc.

Cozad Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 71,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $1,949,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of GPK. Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 0.3% during the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,007,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,826,000 after acquiring an additional 2,969 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the third quarter worth about $271,000. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 1.8% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 26,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $793,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 36.4% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 18,038 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 4,809 shares during the period. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 3rd quarter worth about $794,000. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on GPK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target 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. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.70.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of GPK opened at $26.21 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81. Graphic Packaging Holding has a fifty-two week low of $25.13 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average is $26.99 and its 200-day moving average is $28.27.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 25.96%. Graphic Packaging’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 15th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. This is a boost from Graphic Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is presently 20.37%.

Graphic Packaging 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.