Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC Sells 7,050 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC lowered its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 929,624 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,050 shares during the period. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $25,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 55.4% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 1,105 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Graphic Packaging during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 92.7% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 689 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Stock Up 2.3 %

Graphic Packaging stock opened at $22.36 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.00. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 1-year low of $20.86 and a 1-year high of $30.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

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

Graphic Packaging announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 1st that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the industrial products company to buy up to 23.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on GPK. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.17.

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.