Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC Sells 2,215 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 166,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,215 shares during the period. Baker Ellis Asset Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Graphic Packaging worth $4,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,460,161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $605,416,000 after purchasing an additional 2,294,688 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 24.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,800,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $437,945,000 after purchasing an additional 2,927,344 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 787,266 shares during the period. Premier Fund Managers Ltd boosted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 3,441,614 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,545,000 after purchasing an additional 302,680 shares during the period. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,642,000. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

GPK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.37.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of Graphic Packaging stock opened at $27.93 on Thursday. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 52-week low of $23.47 and a 52-week high of $30.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.23 and a 200-day moving average of $28.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.73.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.04). Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 28.26%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.53 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 15th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.09%.

Insider Transactions at Graphic Packaging

In other news, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total value of $750,841.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,026 shares in the company, valued at $2,348,943.74. This represents a 24.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total transaction of $355,800.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,022.85. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

About Graphic Packaging

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.