National Bank of Canada FI Grows Holdings in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 22.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 26,605 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 4,845 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $4,789,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PKG. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $163,314,000. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 49.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,446,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $274,421,000 after acquiring an additional 477,487 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 175.3% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 438,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $71,401,000 after acquiring an additional 279,059 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 31.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 783,619 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $127,659,000 after acquiring an additional 189,401 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the 1st quarter worth $23,951,000. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of PKG opened at $205.04 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 5.21 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $195.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.00. Packaging Co. of America has a twelve month low of $143.82 and a twelve month high of $210.11.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.31 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.72 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PKG shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $194.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $190.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Packaging Co. of America

In other news, EVP Charles J. Carter sold 5,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,077,128.16. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles J. Carter sold 5,389 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total transaction of $1,057,752.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 25,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,012,794.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.