Verity Asset Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 9,532 Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Verity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,532 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 546.6% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 944 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 2,484.0% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,292 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,242 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the third quarter worth $73,000. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total transaction of $355,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 49,849 shares in the company, valued at $1,478,022.85. This trade represents a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.20% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of Graphic Packaging stock opened at $26.52 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.85. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.64. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 12 month low of $23.47 and a 12 month high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 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 $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. Graphic Packaging’s revenue was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is presently 17.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on GPK shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target (down previously from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus 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.