Insider Selling: Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) President Sells $2,795,734.50 in Stock

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) President Thomas Hassfurther sold 12,129 shares of Packaging Corporation of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.50, for a total value of $2,795,734.50. Following the sale, the president directly owned 197,062 shares in the company, valued at $45,422,791. The trade was a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Packaging Corporation of America Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of PKG opened at $244.49 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 3.16, a quick ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $22.00 billion, a PE ratio of 28.53, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.88. Packaging Corporation of America has a 1 year low of $172.71 and a 1 year high of $246.54. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.73.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The industrial products company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.41 by ($0.09). Packaging Corporation of America had a net margin of 8.61% and a return on equity of 19.18%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.43 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.47 EPS. Packaging Corporation of America’s quarterly revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 2.200-2.20 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Corporation of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Packaging Corporation of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PKG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Citigroup increased their target price on Packaging Corporation of America from $226.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $233.00 to $234.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $238.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.00.

Packaging Corporation of America News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Packaging Corporation of America this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional interest persists — several funds (including Norges Bank, Millennium, BNY Mellon and American Century) have sizable stakes and recently increased positions, which supports demand for the stock and long‑term confidence in PKG.
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend remains intact — PKG recently paid a $1.25 quarterly dividend ($5.00 annualized), yielding ~2.1%, supporting income investors and restraining downside.
• Positive Sentiment: Some sell‑side support remains — several firms maintain Buy/Overweight stances or raised targets earlier (e.g., JPMorgan, Wells Fargo) and Truist kept a Buy rating despite a small target cut, helping underpin the share price. InsiderMonkey
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary and strategy pieces (e.g., “Buy, Sell, or Hold Post Q4 Earnings?”) are circulating and may attract trading interest without delivering new company‑specific catalysts. Yahoo Finance
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks trimmed near‑term and FY2026 earnings estimates (small cuts to Q4 2026/Q4 2027 and lowered FY2026), and kept a Hold rating — downward revisions to estimates are a near‑term headwind for sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest jumped ~29.5% in January (now ~3.6% of float), indicating increased bearish positioning that can add selling pressure or volatility if positions grow.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: PKG’s president sold 12,129 shares (~$2.8M) in early February — while insider sales aren’t uncommon, they can be perceived negatively by some investors. InsiderTrades
• Negative Sentiment: Recent Q4 results (Jan. 27) missed EPS and revenue estimates and Q1 guidance was modest (EPS ~2.20), which remains the primary fundamental headwind for the shares.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PKG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Packaging Corporation of America in the second quarter valued at about $225,478,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 223.6% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,516,562 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $330,504,000 after buying an additional 1,047,902 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 119.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,863,359 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $406,082,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015,894 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 70.6% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,860,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $350,539,000 after acquiring an additional 769,806 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,085,196 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $672,357,000 after acquiring an additional 370,573 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Packaging Corporation of America

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE: PKG) is a leading North American manufacturer of containerboard and corrugated packaging products. The company produces a range of paper-based packaging solutions including linerboard, corrugating medium, corrugated shipping containers, retail-ready packaging and point-of-purchase displays. In addition to core packaging products, Packaging Corporation of America offers packaging design, testing and supply-chain services intended to optimize protection, cost and sustainability for customers.

Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, the company operates an integrated network of mills and corrugated manufacturing facilities across the United States and serves customers throughout North America in industries such as e-commerce, grocery and food & beverage, consumer packaged goods and industrial markets.