Markel Group Inc. Decreases Holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK

Markel Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) by 62.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 174,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 287,225 shares during the quarter. Markel Group Inc. owned 0.06% of Graphic Packaging worth $3,666,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 1,004.9% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,240,697 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $239,888,000 after acquiring an additional 8,404,340 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 18,488,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $479,962,000 after acquiring an additional 1,932,841 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 11,000.0% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,299,806 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,743,000 after acquiring an additional 1,288,096 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 17,636,296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $385,353,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264,922 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,890,782 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $204,844,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018,017 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Graphic Packaging news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.72, for a total transaction of $681,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 255,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,798,212.16. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Philip R. Martens sold 56,737 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.84, for a total value of $1,239,136.08. Following the transaction, the director owned 33,826 shares in the company, valued at $738,759.84. This trade represents a 62.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 93,752 shares of company stock worth $2,073,663 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.41% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Down 0.6%

GPK stock opened at $17.26 on Wednesday. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a fifty-two week low of $16.94 and a fifty-two week high of $30.49. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $19.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.74.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.40 by $0.02. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 21.13% and a net margin of 6.18%.The firm had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.13 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is 24.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Graphic Packaging from $23.00 to $20.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $24.00 target price on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Raymond James Financial lowered Graphic Packaging from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Graphic Packaging from $23.00 to $20.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.00.

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.