Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Wednesday.

PKG has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $252.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of PKG stock opened at $212.49 on Wednesday. Packaging Co. of America has a 12 month low of $159.57 and a 12 month high of $250.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $19.08 billion, a PE ratio of 23.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $234.01 and a 200-day moving average of $220.19.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.04). Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 19.67%. On average, equities analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 11.31 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.99%.

Insider Transactions at Packaging Co. of America

In other news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.20, for a total value 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 $3,777,145. The trade was a 33.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $2,252,253.33. This trade represents a 20.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,064,152. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PKG. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 83.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 307 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 93.7% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 7,147 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,612,000 after acquiring an additional 3,457 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Packaging Co. of America by 23.5% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $829,000 after acquiring an additional 702 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $224,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $5,482,000 after acquiring an additional 1,122 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

About Packaging Co. of America

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.