Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Acquires 66,119 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 198,462 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 66,119 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $2,989,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 19,512,601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $295,616,000 after purchasing an additional 373,624 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 32.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 11,501,251 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $225,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,828,094 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 10.8% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 9,903,921 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $193,811,000 after purchasing an additional 964,517 shares during the period. Eminence Capital LP raised its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 164.6% in the third quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 7,648,135 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $149,674,000 after purchasing an additional 4,758,098 shares during the period. Finally, Shapiro Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC now owns 5,333,922 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $104,385,000 after buying an additional 968,777 shares during the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of Graphic Packaging stock opened at $9.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 0.69. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a twelve month low of $8.78 and a twelve month high of $26.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.85.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 5.15% and a return on equity of 16.58%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter. Analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 2.47 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Robbert Rietbroek acquired 44,278 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $11.32 per share, with a total value of $501,226.96. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 44,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $501,226.96. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.41% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on GPK. Zacks Research lowered shares of Graphic Packaging from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Friday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $9.60 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Graphic Packaging from $11.00 to $9.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Graphic Packaging presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $15.29.

Graphic Packaging Company Profile

Graphic Packaging Holding Company is a leading provider of sustainable paperboard packaging solutions, offering a broad portfolio of products designed for food, beverage and other consumer goods markets. The company specializes in the manufacture of containerboard, folding cartons and engineered fill materials, as well as beverage packaging systems including paperboard cups, carriers and related components.

Through a network of manufacturing facilities across North America, Europe and Latin America, Graphic Packaging serves a diverse customer base that includes major consumer packaged goods companies, quick-service restaurants and retail chains.