Graphic Packaging Holding (GPK) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.10 on July 5th

Graphic Packaging Holding (NYSE:GPK – Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 24th, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.10 per share by the industrial products company on Wednesday, July 5th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 14th.

Graphic Packaging has increased its dividend by an average of 2.7% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Graphic Packaging has a dividend payout ratio of 12.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Graphic Packaging to earn $3.08 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 13.0%.

Graphic Packaging Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GPK opened at $24.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 0.33 and a beta of 0.97. Graphic Packaging has a one year low of $19.08 and a one year high of $26.16. The company’s fifty day moving average is $25.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.62.

Graphic Packaging (NYSE:GPK – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 2nd. The industrial products company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.15. Graphic Packaging had a return on equity of 38.99% and a net margin of 6.46%. The business had revenue of $2.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Graphic Packaging will post 3.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Graphic Packaging from $29.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $28.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Seaport Res Ptn reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Graphic Packaging in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $30.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Graphic Packaging from $31.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $28.78.

Insider Buying and Selling at Graphic Packaging

In other Graphic Packaging news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.99, for a total value of $1,439,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 209,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,019,907.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Graphic Packaging news, EVP Joseph P. Yost sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.99, for a total value of $1,439,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 209,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,019,907.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Stephen R. Scherger sold 160,492 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.81, for a total value of $4,142,298.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 427,548 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,035,013.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Graphic Packaging

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in GPK. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $519,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Graphic Packaging during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $184,000. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 2.6% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 3.2% during the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 25,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Graphic Packaging by 9.0% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 11,619 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $233,000 after purchasing an additional 955 shares during the last quarter. 94.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.