Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Acquires New Stake in Packaging Corporation of America $PKG

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new position in Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,972 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $452,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PKG. John Boyer Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new position in Packaging Corporation of America during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America in the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America in the 2nd quarter worth $41,000. Finally, Lynch Investment Planning LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America in the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. 89.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Donald R. Shirley sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.71, for a total value of $3,008,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 19,110 shares in the company, valued at $4,791,068.10. This trade represents a 38.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 7,063 shares of Packaging Corporation of America stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.00, for a total value of $1,794,002.00. Following the sale, the president directly owned 202,891 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,534,314. This represents a 3.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 40,391 shares of company stock worth $10,196,101 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on PKG. Weiss Ratings upgraded Packaging Corporation of America from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $294.00 price objective (up from $280.00) on shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $292.00 to $289.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $253.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Packaging Corporation of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.43.

Packaging Corporation of America Stock Performance

Shares of Packaging Corporation of America stock opened at $257.14 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $237.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $229.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.67, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.86, a current ratio of 2.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. Packaging Corporation of America has a 52 week low of $191.50 and a 52 week high of $259.98.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The industrial products company reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.11. Packaging Corporation of America had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The company had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.73 EPS. Packaging Corporation of America’s revenue was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.56 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Corporation of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Packaging Corporation of America’s payout ratio is 73.89%.

About Packaging Corporation of America

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) is a manufacturer of corrugated packaging and containerboard products serving businesses primarily in the United States. Its products include shipping boxes, retail packaging, displays, protective packaging and specialty corrugated solutions used to transport and present a broad range of consumer and industrial goods.

The company also produces uncoated freesheet paper and related paper products for commercial printing, office use, publishing, converting and other applications.