Nemes Rush Group LLC Increases Position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its position in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 7.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,885 shares during the period. Nemes Rush Group LLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $2,190,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of GPK. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 20.8% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 23,489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 4,049 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank lifted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 14,819 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,710 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 139,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,435,000 after purchasing an additional 1,334 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 41,957.1% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,888 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 5,874 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,909,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,296,266.16. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $1,372,697.53. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,909,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,296,266.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total transaction of $2,422,790.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,123,202 shares in the company, valued at $59,555,816.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on GPK. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $35.20 price target on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $35.00 target price on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $31.15.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

GPK stock opened at $29.50 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $28.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. The stock has a market cap of $9.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.35, a PEG ratio of 5.13 and a beta of 0.83. Graphic Packaging Holding has a fifty-two week low of $20.07 and a fifty-two week high of $30.66.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its 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 net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 30.74%. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.10%.

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.