Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Buys 8,348,907 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding Company $GPK

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC grew its stake in Graphic Packaging Holding Company (NYSE:GPK) by 6,288.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,481,670 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,348,907 shares during the period. Graphic Packaging comprises approximately 1.2% of Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC owned 2.87% of Graphic Packaging worth $84,308,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 503.6% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 8,693,765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $130,928,000 after buying an additional 7,253,473 shares during the last quarter. Eminence Capital LP grew its position in Graphic Packaging by 67.5% during the 4th quarter. Eminence Capital LP now owns 12,811,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $192,948,000 after acquiring an additional 5,163,806 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 123.8% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 9,026,134 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $135,934,000 after purchasing an additional 4,992,179 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at about $54,031,000. Finally, Milford Funds Ltd. bought a new position in Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,374,000. 99.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In other news, Director Jeffrey Stafeil bought 17,878 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 7th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $11.19 per share, with a total value of $200,054.82. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 17,878 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,054.82. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Graphic Packaging Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of Graphic Packaging stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $10.28. The company had a trading volume of 2,759,095 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,834,232. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $10.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $11.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 11.18 and a beta of 0.66. Graphic Packaging Holding Company has a fifty-two week low of $8.78 and a fifty-two week high of $23.76.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by $0.03. Graphic Packaging had a net margin of 3.17% and a return on equity of 12.62%. The business had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.51 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Graphic Packaging has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.750-1.150 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Graphic Packaging Holding Company will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is 47.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on GPK. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Graphic Packaging from $13.00 to $10.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird set a $13.00 target price on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Graphic Packaging in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $9.60 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $10.00 to $12.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $12.26.

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.