abrdn plc Acquires 26,774 Shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

abrdn plc grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 121.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 48,732 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 26,774 shares during the quarter. abrdn plc owned 0.05% of Packaging Co. of America worth $7,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the third quarter valued at approximately $46,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 485.7% in the fourth quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 328 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PKG. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Packaging Co. of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $187.00 to $191.00 in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial upped their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $170.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Bank of America upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $172.00 to $202.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com lowered Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $183.00 to $181.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.57.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of PKG stock opened at $172.85 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $181.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.21. The company has a market cap of $15.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61, a PEG ratio of 4.17 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is 62.50%.

Insider Activity at Packaging Co. of America

In related news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,478,319.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,478,319.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 38,041 shares of company stock valued at $6,799,177 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.