Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Shares Sold by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio reduced its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 7.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,941 shares during the quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $8,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PKG. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,948,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $855,212,000 after acquiring an additional 123,050 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,937,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $632,654,000 after purchasing an additional 98,223 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.5% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,853,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $520,920,000 after buying an additional 41,903 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 8.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,153,732 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $210,636,000 after buying an additional 86,005 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,076,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,846,000 after buying an additional 35,827 shares in the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $252.00 price objective (up previously from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.60.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE PKG opened at $239.03 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market cap of $21.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.77. Packaging Co. of America has a 12-month low of $159.57 and a 12-month high of $250.82. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $233.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.37.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.15. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.10% and a net margin of 9.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.09%. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is 58.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total value of $3,007,750.00. Following the sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.20, for a total transaction of $1,921,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,725 shares in the company, valued at $3,777,145. The trade was a 33.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,064,152. 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.