Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 25.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 427,069 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 146,099 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $11,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 55.4% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 2,484.0% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 92.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 689 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 58.2% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of GPK opened at $25.14 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $26.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.92. Graphic Packaging Holding has a one year low of $24.50 and a one year high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $7.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 15th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Graphic Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.