Handelsbanken Fonder AB Grows Stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned about 0.06% of Packaging Co. of America worth $8,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 19,323.7% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 30,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,936,000 after purchasing an additional 30,145 shares in the last quarter. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth about $16,338,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 60.4% during the third quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,020 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,890 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 75.0% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 15,884 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,436,000 after purchasing an additional 6,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 90.2% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 13,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,188,000 after purchasing an additional 6,368 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Packaging Co. of America stock opened at $173.92 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $181.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $168.02. Packaging Co. of America has a 1-year low of $122.20 and a 1-year high of $191.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The stock has a market cap of $15.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.15 and a beta of 0.78.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.09. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.20 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.24 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Insider Transactions at Packaging Co. of America

In other news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total value of $1,825,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,478,319.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 14,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.80, for a total value of $2,466,395.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 183,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,967,034. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total transaction of $1,825,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,454 shares in the company, valued at $8,478,319.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,041 shares of company stock worth $6,799,177. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on PKG shares. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $187.00 to $191.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $170.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.86.

About Packaging Co. of America

Packaging Corporation of America manufactures and sells containerboard and corrugated packaging products in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. The Packaging segment offers various containerboard and corrugated packaging products, such as conventional shipping containers used to protect and transport manufactured goods; multi-color boxes and displays that help to merchandise the packaged product in retail locations; and honeycomb protective packaging products, as well as packaging for meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, processed food, beverages, and other industrial and consumer products.