Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,297 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 624 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $1,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 19,323.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 30,301 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,936,000 after acquiring an additional 30,145 shares during the period. AEGON ASSET MANAGEMENT UK Plc bought a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at $16,338,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 60.4% during the third quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 5,020 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $771,000 after acquiring an additional 1,890 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 75.0% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 15,884 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,436,000 after acquiring an additional 6,809 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 90.2% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 13,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,188,000 after acquiring an additional 6,368 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PKG shares. Citigroup raised their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Packaging Co. of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $187.00 to $191.00 in a report on Wednesday. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Bank of America upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $172.00 to $202.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.86.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of PKG stock traded up $2.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $173.03. 372,126 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 694,690. Packaging Co. of America has a 12-month low of $122.20 and a 12-month high of $191.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The company has a market cap of $15.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $181.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $168.02.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.09. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 9.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Packaging Co. of America news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total value of $1,825,100.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,478,319.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Packaging Co. of America news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total value of $1,825,100.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,478,319.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.06, for a total value of $2,507,681.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 187,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,975,365.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,041 shares of company stock valued at $6,799,177. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Company Profile

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.