Mirova Purchases 44,585 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Mirova raised its position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 41.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 152,851 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,585 shares during the quarter. Mirova owned approximately 0.05% of Graphic Packaging worth $4,151,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 0.3% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 1,007,968 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,826,000 after buying an additional 2,969 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in Graphic Packaging by 8.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 637,199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $18,854,000 after acquiring an additional 51,451 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 3rd quarter worth $359,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 3rd quarter valued at $414,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 3rd quarter worth $73,000. 99.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:GPK opened at $24.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.51. Graphic Packaging Holding has a fifty-two week low of $23.03 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.46.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.04). Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 25.96% and a net margin of 7.47%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. This is a positive change from Graphic Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.