Apollon Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 24.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 15.2% in the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $704,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 9,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,773,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 2,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $491,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,461 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $452,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

NYSE:PKG opened at $235.81 on Monday. Packaging Co. of America has a 12 month low of $148.50 and a 12 month high of $245.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $221.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $200.30. The company has a current ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $21.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.76.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS 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 company had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.05 EPS. Packaging Co. of America’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PKG has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target 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, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $252.00 price target (up previously from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $221.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.20, for a total value of $1,921,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,725 shares in the company, valued at $3,777,145. This represents a 33.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 43,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,576,211.48. This trade represents a 22.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.