Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) CEO Sells $1,372,697.53 in Stock

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 9th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

NYSE GPK traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $28.18. 1,521,528 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,685,807. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.73, a P/E/G ratio of 5.10 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 1 year low of $20.07 and a 1 year high of $30.66. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $27.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.14.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.66 EPS. Graphic Packaging’s quarterly revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is presently 18.10%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Graphic Packaging by 41.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,115,566 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $317,549,000 after buying an additional 3,576,877 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $311,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,889,525 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings 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 boosted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 5.7% in 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 during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings 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 valued at $158,693,000 after buying an additional 362,509 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.20 target price for the company. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.