Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Raises Stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,850 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $4,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PKG. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 4.6% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 70,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,419,000 after buying an additional 3,078 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 30.4% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 90,686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,168,000 after buying an additional 21,143 shares in the last quarter. Cim LLC purchased a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth $2,003,000. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 5.5% in the second quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. now owns 234,495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,809,000 after buying an additional 12,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXS Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter worth $766,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of PKG opened at $210.27 on Friday. Packaging Co. of America has a twelve month low of $143.82 and a twelve month high of $211.90. The company has a market cap of $18.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.43, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $197.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.61.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its 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. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 18.21%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.72 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 16th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $196.28, for a total value of $1,177,680.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 20,772 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,077,128.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Packaging Co. of America 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 transaction of $1,057,752.92. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $1,177,680.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,772 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,077,128.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.