Balentine LLC Makes New Investment in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Balentine LLC bought a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,402 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Packaging Co. of America by 37.7% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,389 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 928 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Packaging Co. of America by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 60,703 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,889,000 after acquiring an additional 1,392 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Packaging Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth about $859,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth about $163,314,000. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 3,193 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $520,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PKG. Bank of America upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $172.00 to $202.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $183.00 to $181.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $182.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $187.00 to $191.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Packaging Co. of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.57.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of PKG stock opened at $180.24 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.75 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. Packaging Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $122.20 and a fifty-two week high of $191.27. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $181.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.86.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.09. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 18.80%. The firm 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 company posted $2.20 earnings per share. Packaging Co. of America’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.27 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.77%. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 62.50%.

Insider Transactions 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 shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $8,478,319.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Packaging Co. of America news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total transaction of $1,825,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,454 shares in the company, valued at $8,478,319.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Karen E. Gowland bought 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $182.06 per share, with a total value of $54,618.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $166,766.96. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.