Norges Bank Makes New Investment in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,618,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $98,268,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.21% of Graphic Packaging at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 108.6% during the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 64,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 33,493 shares during the last quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,021,143 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,734,000 after buying an additional 13,175 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Graphic Packaging by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,610,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $313,957,000 after buying an additional 787,266 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at $51,642,000. Finally, Advocate Group LLC boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 14.5% during the 4th quarter. Advocate Group LLC now owns 226,399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,149,000 after acquiring an additional 28,703 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 target price (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.37.

Graphic Packaging Trading Up 1.0 %

NYSE:GPK opened at $26.23 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $26.67 and its 200 day moving average is $27.99. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 12 month low of $24.50 and a 12 month high of $30.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.87 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, March 15th will be given a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. This is a positive change from Graphic Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 20.37%.

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.