Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA Reduces Position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA trimmed its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,818 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,034 shares during the quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $2,385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in GPK. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,800,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $437,945,000 after acquiring an additional 2,927,344 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 20,460,161 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $605,416,000 after acquiring an additional 2,294,688 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,642,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,131,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Graphic Packaging by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 10,610,233 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $313,957,000 after acquiring an additional 787,266 shares during the period. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graphic Packaging Stock Performance

Shares of GPK stock opened at $26.61 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.59. The stock has a market cap of $7.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.84. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 1 year low of $23.47 and a 1 year high of $30.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.46.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was down 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.75 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 5th. Investors of record on Saturday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Graphic Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is currently 18.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on GPK. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com cut Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial raised their price target on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $30.00 price target (down from $33.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.70.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of Graphic Packaging 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,022.85. The trade was a 19.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.