Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Boosts Stock Position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,171 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 130 shares during the quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 3,429 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 1.2% in the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 5,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $791,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank boosted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 1,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,263 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 16,793 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,736,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PKG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Packaging Co. of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $187.00 to $191.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $172.00 to $202.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $183.00 to $181.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut Packaging Co. of America from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $182.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.06, for a total transaction of $2,507,681.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 187,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,975,365.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total transaction of $1,825,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,478,319.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was 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 directly owns 187,647 shares in the company, valued at $33,975,365.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,041 shares of company stock worth $6,799,177. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of PKG opened at $179.15 on Wednesday. Packaging Co. of America has a 1-year low of $122.20 and a 1-year high of $191.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $182.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.80.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.09. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 9.25%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.21 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is 62.50%.

Packaging Co. of America Company Profile

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.