Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK - Free Report) by 24.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,800,425 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,927,344 shares during the quarter. Graphic Packaging comprises about 0.7% of Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned approximately 4.82% of Graphic Packaging worth $437,945,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its stake in Graphic Packaging by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 15,635 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $463,000 after acquiring an additional 2,048 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 707,969 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $20,949,000 after purchasing an additional 136,342 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $214,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 24,632 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $729,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC increased its position in Graphic Packaging by 102.2% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 20,849 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 10,536 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Shares of GPK stock traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $30.10. 2,600,178 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,510,227. Graphic Packaging Holding has a fifty-two week low of $20.07 and a fifty-two week high of $30.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 1.45. The company has a market capitalization of $9.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.62, a P/E/G ratio of 5.08 and a beta of 0.83. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $29.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.13.
Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.04. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.93% and a return on equity of 30.74%. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.27 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.66 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, October 5th. Investors of record on Sunday, September 15th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Graphic Packaging's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 18.10%.
A number of research firms recently issued reports on GPK. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Graphic Packaging from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $31.60.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on GPK
In related news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total transaction of $1,372,697.53. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,909,576 shares in the company, valued at $53,296,266.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Graphic Packaging news, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 49,183 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.91, for a total value of $1,372,697.53. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,909,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,296,266.16. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Michael P. Doss sold 86,374 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.05, for a total value of $2,422,790.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,123,202 shares in the company, valued at $59,555,816.10. The trade was a 0.00 % 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 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.
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