Eastern Bank Purchases Shares of 500 Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 4.6% during the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 70,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $13,419,000 after acquiring an additional 3,078 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 30.4% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 90,686 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $17,168,000 after purchasing an additional 21,143 shares in the last quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 5.5% during the second quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. now owns 234,495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $42,809,000 after purchasing an additional 12,129 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 6.8% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 224,273 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,839,000 after purchasing an additional 14,277 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 10.7% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 108,959 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $20,678,000 after purchasing an additional 10,516 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $252.00 price objective (up previously from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Citigroup boosted their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $221.60.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:PKG opened at $225.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.43. Packaging Co. of America has a one year low of $148.50 and a one year high of $231.30. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.18. The stock has a market cap of $20.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.77.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.15. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.35% and a net margin of 9.46%. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.05 earnings per share. Packaging Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.77 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. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 16th. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

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.