Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,929 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 479 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $1,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PKG. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Packaging Co. of America stock opened at $170.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $15.34 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $181.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.77. Packaging Co. of America has a 12 month low of $122.20 and a 12 month high of $191.27.

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

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on PKG. Bank of America raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $172.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $170.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $182.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Packaging Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $171.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Packaging Co. of America news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 187,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,975,365.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Packaging Co. of America news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 46,454 shares in the company, valued at $8,478,319.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 187,647 shares in the company, valued at $33,975,365.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,041 shares of company stock valued at $6,799,177 over the last 90 days. 1.70% 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.