Hennessy Advisors Inc. Acquires Shares of 1,901,400 Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,901,400 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,642,000. Graphic Packaging comprises 1.5% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position 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. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the third quarter worth $30,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the third quarter valued at $73,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 57.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,308 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $127,000 after buying an additional 1,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 29.0% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 5,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Graphic Packaging news, CAO Charles D. Lischer sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.65, for a total value of $355,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 49,849 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Also, EVP Michael James Farrell sold 25,900 shares of Graphic Packaging stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 81,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,348,943.74. The trade was 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPK opened at $27.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.82, a P/E/G ratio of 9.62 and a beta of 0.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $28.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78. Graphic Packaging Holding has a twelve month low of $23.47 and a twelve month high of $30.70.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.68 by ($0.04). Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.99% and a return on equity of 28.26%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup restated 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $24.00 to $27.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $34.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company 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.