Howard Capital Management Group LLC Acquires 6,605 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Howard Capital Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) by 0.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,027,748 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,605 shares during the quarter. Graphic Packaging comprises 2.1% of Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Howard Capital Management Group LLC’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $26,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. AlphaCentric Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,086,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 24,606 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $692,000 after purchasing an additional 486 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 9,231 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $251,000 after buying an additional 477 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 241,302 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,554,000 after buying an additional 14,030 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 113,423 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,081,000 after buying an additional 7,453 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.67% of the company’s stock.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

GPK opened at $21.66 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The company has a market cap of $6.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.91. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 12-month low of $20.86 and a 12-month high of $30.70.

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

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

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 21.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on GPK shares. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target (down previously from $30.00) on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $28.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group started coverage on Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $24.00 target price for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.53.

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.