Insider Selling: Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) EVP Sells 30,000 Shares of Stock

Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) EVP Joseph Yost sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total value of $681,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 255,203 shares in the company, valued at $5,798,212.16. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Graphic Packaging Stock Up 0.2%

GPK stock opened at $22.44 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a PEG ratio of 7.61 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a 1 year low of $20.86 and a 1 year high of $30.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.77.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.40 by $0.02. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 6.18% and a return on equity of 21.13%. The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.13 billion. Graphic Packaging has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.900-2.20 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the industrial products company to reacquire up to 23.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on GPK shares. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $28.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $24.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.38.

Institutional Trading of Graphic Packaging

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 69.9% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,065 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 438 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 130.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,382 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 783 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1,356.1% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,791 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,668 shares during the period. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.