Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Cuts Stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 13.3% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 51,903 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 7,953 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $9,475,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PKG. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 2,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 22.4% during the second quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 322 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $59,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 3,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 3.3% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,514 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, River Street Advisors LLC grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 4,910 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $194.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $190.50.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

NYSE PKG opened at $201.81 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.23, a PEG ratio of 5.41 and a beta of 0.77. Packaging Co. of America has a 12 month low of $143.82 and a 12 month high of $210.11. The company’s 50 day moving average is $194.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.46. The company has a current ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.06. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The company had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. Packaging Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 16th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 16th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Charles J. Carter sold 5,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total value of $1,057,752.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,012,794.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Packaging Co. of America news, EVP Charles J. Carter sold 5,389 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total value of $1,057,752.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,012,794.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total value of $1,177,680.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,077,128.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Packaging Co. of America Profile

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.