Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Makes New $2.90 Million Investment in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 117,498 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,896,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Graphic Packaging by 2.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,127,808 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $574,983,000 after purchasing an additional 566,205 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 15,105,236 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $302,709,000 after buying an additional 377,055 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Graphic Packaging by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,681,314 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $282,540,000 after buying an additional 628,663 shares during the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,207,562 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $271,984,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 67.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,133,955 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $225,785,000 after acquiring an additional 4,074,508 shares in the last quarter. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Graphic Packaging Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:GPK opened at $28.43 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 52-week low of $20.07 and a 52-week high of $29.50. The stock has a market cap of $8.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 0.84. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $26.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.50.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 7.67% and a return on equity of 35.66%. Graphic Packaging’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Graphic Packaging’s payout ratio is 17.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 70,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.20, for a total value of $1,834,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 205,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,377,052.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Graphic Packaging from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Graphic Packaging from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Graphic Packaging from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated an “underweight” rating and set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Graphic Packaging currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.44.

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.