Hodges Capital Management Inc. Acquires 169,853 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 45.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 540,644 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 169,853 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $14,684,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter worth $34,131,000. Capital Insight Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 48,890 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,328,000 after purchasing an additional 3,630 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 108.6% in the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 64,343 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 33,493 shares during the period. Finally, Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter worth about $271,000. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Graphic Packaging

In related news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total transaction of $355,800.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,478,022.85. This represents a 19.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.99, for a total transaction of $750,841.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 81,026 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,348,943.74. This represents a 24.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

GPK opened at $27.39 on Monday. Graphic Packaging Holding has a fifty-two week low of $23.47 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.11 and a 200 day moving average of $28.66. 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 firm has a market cap of $8.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 0.85.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, January 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 15th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial upped their target price 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. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.37.

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.