Advocate Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Advocate Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 18.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,145 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 730 shares during the period. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 234.7% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC boosted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 150.8% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 163 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 44.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Packaging Co. of America during the third quarter worth approximately $64,000. 89.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PKG opened at $240.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Packaging Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $159.57 and a fifty-two week high of $250.82. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $235.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $218.73. The company has a market cap of $21.56 billion, a PE ratio of 27.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.79.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 19.10%. Packaging Co. of America’s revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.08 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is 58.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Packaging Co. of America

In other news, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.91, for a total value of $2,571,555.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,175,045.71. This represents a 54.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total transaction of $563,247.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,252,253.33. This represents a 20.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,064,152 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PKG. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $252.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Packaging Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.67.

Packaging Co. of America Profile

Packaging Corporation of America engages in the production of container products. It operates through the following segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. The Packaging segment offers a variety of corrugated packaging products, such as conventional shipping containers. The Paper segment manufactures and sells a range of papers, including communication-based papers, and pressure sensitive papers.