Swiss National Bank Buys 12,200 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 13th, 2023

Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK – Get Rating) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 743,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,200 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.24% of Graphic Packaging worth $16,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 0.7% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 83,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,654,000 after acquiring an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 11,662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 591 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,297 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. American International Group Inc. raised its stake in Graphic Packaging by 21.6% during the second quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 4,414 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 3.2% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 25,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $547,000 after acquiring an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.47% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

NYSE GPK opened at $25.95 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $24.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.45. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 52 week low of $19.08 and a 52 week high of $26.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98, a PEG ratio of 0.34 and a beta of 0.97.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.40 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 6.46% and a return on equity of 38.99%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 3.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 14th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 60,000 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.99, for a total transaction of $1,439,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 209,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,019,907.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Graphic Packaging news, CFO Stephen R. Scherger sold 160,492 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $4,142,298.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 427,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,035,013.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.99, for a total value of $1,439,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 209,250 shares in the company, valued at $5,019,907.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on GPK. Mizuho lifted their price target on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Seaport Res Ptn restated a “buy” rating on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Graphic Packaging from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Graphic Packaging from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $28.78.

Graphic Packaging Profile

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Graphic Packaging Holding Co engages in the provision of paper-based packaging solutions for a variety of products to food, beverage and other consumer products companies. It operates through the following business segments: Paperboard Mills, Americas Paperboard Packaging, Europe Paperboard Packaging, and Corporate and Other.