Truist Financial Corp Raises Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 241,302 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,030 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp owned approximately 0.08% of Graphic Packaging worth $6,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 1.1% in the third quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 38,064 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after acquiring an additional 401 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 1.8% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 26,805 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $793,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 9,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 477 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 24,606 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $692,000 after acquiring an additional 486 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 58.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of GPK stock opened at $27.10 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.50. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 1-year low of $25.13 and a 1-year 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 company has a market cap of $8.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.55, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.84.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.04). Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.47% and a return on equity of 25.96%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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 disclosed 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 an increase from Graphic Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is currently 18.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on GPK shares. StockNews.com downgraded Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price (down from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total value of $355,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,022.85. This represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company 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.