Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 121,156 Shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its position in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK – Get Rating) by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,001,071 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 121,156 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Graphic Packaging were worth $39,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Graphic Packaging during the first quarter worth about $519,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $184,000. BlackRock Inc. increased its stake in Graphic Packaging by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 15,105,236 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $302,709,000 after purchasing an additional 377,055 shares in the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its holdings in Graphic Packaging by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 25,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 792 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 9.0% in the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 11,619 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 955 shares in the last quarter. 94.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In other news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.99, for a total value of $1,439,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 209,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,019,907.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.93% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on GPK shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Graphic Packaging from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Graphic Packaging from $27.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 21st. Mizuho increased their price objective on Graphic Packaging from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Graphic Packaging from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.83.

Graphic Packaging Trading Down 3.5 %

Graphic Packaging stock opened at $23.76 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.42, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 1.40. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.96. Graphic Packaging Holding has a 52 week low of $18.90 and a 52 week high of $25.17.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The industrial products company reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.01. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 36.32% and a net margin of 5.53%. The business had revenue of $2.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.81%.

Graphic Packaging Company Profile

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Graphic Packaging Holding Co engages in the provision of paper-based packaging solutions for a variety of products to food, beverage and other consumer products companies. It operates through the following business segments: Paperboard Mills, Americas Paperboard Packaging, Europe Paperboard Packaging, and Corporate and Other.