Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Buys 2,692 Shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 54,977 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,692 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $12,377,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,405 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $316,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,165 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 15.2% in the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,643 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Packaging Co. of America

In other news, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total value of $563,247.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,252,253.33. The trade was a 20.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of Packaging Co. of America stock opened at $212.98 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.43. Packaging Co. of America has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $250.82. The company has a market capitalization of $19.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.85, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. 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 (NYSE:PKG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.04). Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 19.67%. As a group, analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PKG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price (down from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Company 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.