Venturi Wealth Management LLC Acquires 702 Shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 23.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 702 shares during the quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $224,000. Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 24,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,482,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 15,632 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,519,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 463,899 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $104,445,000 after acquiring an additional 3,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 19.0% in the fourth quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 2,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $469,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE PKG opened at $212.19 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.77. Packaging Co. of America has a 52-week low of $167.60 and a 52-week high of $250.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.95. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $225.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $221.86.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.36%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on PKG. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of 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. StockNews.com cut shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price target (down from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.00.

Insider Transactions at Packaging Co. of America

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

Packaging Co. of America 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.