Cerity Partners LLC Raises Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,935 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,376 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 546.6% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 46.3% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 868 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 2nd quarter worth about $88,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $152,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the period. Finally, Bellecapital International Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 3rd quarter valued at about $203,000. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPK opened at $29.53 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 0.83. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 52 week low of $22.76 and a 52 week high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 28.26% and a net margin of 7.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.74 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, January 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 15th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total transaction of $355,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 49,849 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,022.85. This trade represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total transaction of $750,841.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 81,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,348,943.74. This trade 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 insiders.

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.