National Pension Service Grows Holdings in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 25.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 175,794 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,059 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.20% of Packaging Co. of America worth $37,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PKG. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 11.0% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,039 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,210,000 after buying an additional 1,392 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 36,536 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,870,000 after acquiring an additional 633 shares during the period. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 19,010 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,095,000 after acquiring an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC purchased a new stake in Packaging Co. of America during the third quarter worth about $224,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 25.5% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 591 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $127,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PKG. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $252.00 price objective (up previously from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com lowered Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $221.60.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Up 3.9 %

Packaging Co. of America stock opened at $241.59 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $21.70 billion, a PE ratio of 28.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.43 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $215.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $196.64. Packaging Co. of America has a 1-year low of $148.50 and a 1-year high of $245.00.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.15. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 19.35%. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.05 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.28%.

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.