DME Capital Management LP Sells 400,000 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

DME Capital Management LP cut its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 22.3% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,396,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 400,000 shares during the period. Graphic Packaging makes up 1.8% of DME Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. DME Capital Management LP’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $36,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of GPK. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 41.9% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,115,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $317,549,000 after purchasing an additional 3,576,877 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 11,873,081 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $311,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,889,525 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,600,600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $251,632,000 after purchasing an additional 706,486 shares in the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 7,962,325 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $196,271,000 after purchasing an additional 431,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,054,530 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $158,693,000 after purchasing an additional 362,509 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Graphic Packaging Trading Down 1.8 %

NYSE GPK opened at $28.69 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $8.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98, a PEG ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 12 month low of $20.07 and a 12 month high of $30.66. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $28.88 and a 200-day moving average of $28.01.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.04. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 30.74% and a net margin of 7.93%. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.66 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $2,422,790.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,123,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,555,816.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other 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 directly owns 1,909,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,296,266.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $2,422,790.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,123,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $59,555,816.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on GPK. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target 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 reaffirmed 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 note on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.20 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $31.15.

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.