Markel Group Inc. Raises Position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Markel Group Inc. grew its holdings in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 394,725 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 60,000 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Graphic Packaging worth $11,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 546.6% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging during the first quarter worth about $38,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 46.3% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 868 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 2nd quarter valued at about $88,000. Finally, LGT Group Foundation bought a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter valued at about $134,000. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graphic Packaging news, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total value of $750,841.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 81,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,348,943.74. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Graphic Packaging Trading Up 1.5 %

GPK opened at $29.49 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.73. The stock has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.60, a P/E/G ratio of 11.29 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $29.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $28.24. Graphic Packaging Holding has a one year low of $21.25 and a one year high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on GPK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Truist Financial lowered Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.53.

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.