Portfolio Design Labs LLC Raises Holdings in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Portfolio Design Labs LLC raised its stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 64.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 774 shares during the quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PKG. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Packaging Co. of America by 1,462.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 573,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $123,440,000 after purchasing an additional 536,389 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Packaging Co. of America by 41,151.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 155,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,499,000 after purchasing an additional 155,142 shares during the period. Conning Inc. purchased a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $32,329,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Packaging Co. of America by 218.1% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 207,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,739,000 after purchasing an additional 142,400 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in Packaging Co. of America by 1,800.2% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 130,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,128,000 after purchasing an additional 123,711 shares during the period. 89.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE:PKG opened at $204.50 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.77. Packaging Co. of America has a one year low of $163.68 and a one year high of $250.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $228.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $221.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.95.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.04). Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 9.60%. Sell-side analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 55.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Packaging Co. of America

In other Packaging Co. of America news, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.91, for a total value of $2,571,555.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,881 shares in the company, valued at $2,175,045.71. The trade was a 54.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total value of $563,247.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,252,253.33. The trade was a 20.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on PKG. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (down from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Company Profile

Packaging Corporation of America engages in the production of container products. It operates through the following segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. The Packaging segment offers a variety of corrugated packaging products, such as conventional shipping containers. The Paper segment manufactures and sells a range of papers, including communication-based papers, and pressure sensitive papers.