KBC Group NV Sells 7,098 Shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

KBC Group NV decreased its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 83,629 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,098 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned approximately 0.09% of Packaging Co. of America worth $18,827,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of 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 holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 41,151.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 155,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,499,000 after acquiring an additional 155,142 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 218.1% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 207,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,739,000 after acquiring an additional 142,400 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1,800.2% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 130,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,128,000 after acquiring an additional 123,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,948,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $855,212,000 after acquiring an additional 123,050 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 0.4 %

PKG stock opened at $238.71 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $235.89 and its 200 day moving average is $220.08. The stock has a market cap of $21.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Packaging Co. of America has a 1-year low of $159.57 and a 1-year high of $250.82.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued 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 19.10% and a net margin of 9.46%. Sell-side analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is 58.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $252.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $238.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.20, for a total transaction of $1,921,600.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,777,145. This trade represents a 33.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total value of $3,007,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,576,211.48. This represents a 22.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,064,152 over the last 90 days. 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.