Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Holdings Reduced by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC decreased its position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,918 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,531 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $1,059,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,853,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $520,920,000 after purchasing an additional 41,903 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 49.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,446,303 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $274,421,000 after purchasing an additional 477,487 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,153,732 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,636,000 after purchasing an additional 86,005 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 34.3% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,027,585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $187,596,000 after purchasing an additional 262,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 869,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $164,985,000 after acquiring an additional 42,465 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Packaging Co. of America Stock Up 0.5 %

PKG stock opened at $246.43 on Friday. Packaging Co. of America has a 12 month low of $153.58 and a 12 month high of $248.62. The firm has a market cap of $22.13 billion, a PE ratio of 28.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $202.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.95 and a quick ratio of 1.98.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.15. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 19.10%. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.05 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.28%.

Insider Activity

In other Packaging Co. of America news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total value of $3,007,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 43,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,576,211.48. This represents a 22.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.91, for a total transaction of $2,571,555.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,881 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,175,045.71. This represents a 54.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,000 shares of company stock worth $7,500,905 over the last 90 days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company 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.