Hsbc Holdings PLC Increases Stock Position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 335.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 52,065 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 40,116 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $1,414,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 920.6% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 4,176,187 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $113,425,000 after acquiring an additional 3,767,011 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at about $98,268,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 735.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,446,843 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,456,000 after purchasing an additional 2,153,925 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter valued at about $51,642,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 16,503,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $441,990,000 after buying an additional 1,702,764 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of GPK stock opened at $21.84 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.46. Graphic Packaging Holding has a fifty-two week low of $20.86 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.59 billion, a PE ratio of 10.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.21.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $2.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.14 billion. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 25.96% and a net margin of 7.47%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.66 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the industrial products company to buy up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Graphic Packaging Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This is an increase from Graphic Packaging’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Graphic Packaging from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $24.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Friday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $29.17.

Graphic Packaging 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.