Cozad Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK)

Cozad Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 89,085 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,196,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Graphic Packaging by 870.7% during the 3rd quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,291 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,158 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Graphic Packaging in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Graphic Packaging by 39.6% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,372 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Graphic Packaging by 44.2% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,476 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $62,000. 99.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of GPK opened at $25.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50-day moving average is $27.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 1.10. Graphic Packaging Holding has a fifty-two week low of $20.07 and a fifty-two week high of $29.50.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The industrial products company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.06. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 35.66% and a net margin of 7.67%. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.40 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Graphic Packaging’s quarterly revenue was down 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Graphic Packaging Holding will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Graphic Packaging Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 5th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Graphic Packaging’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.02%.

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.