Truist Financial Corp Reduces Stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Truist Financial Corp lessened its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,083 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,437 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $2,783,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PKG. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,186,729 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $335,772,000 after purchasing an additional 11,536 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,337,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $205,389,000 after acquiring an additional 58,444 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,154,823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $177,323,000 after acquiring an additional 131,058 shares during the period. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth $123,821,000. Finally, Atlas FRM LLC raised its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. Atlas FRM LLC now owns 460,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $70,633,000 after purchasing an additional 70,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PKG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas cut Packaging Co. of America from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $182.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $187.00 to $191.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Bank of America raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $172.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $183.00 to $181.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Packaging Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $173.57.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PKG opened at $179.15 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $182.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $169.64. Packaging Co. of America has a 52-week low of $122.20 and a 52-week high of $191.27. The company has a market cap of $16.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.57.

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

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Insider Activity at Packaging Co. of America

In other news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were 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 approximately $33,975,365.82. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the business’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 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the firm’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 owns 187,647 shares of the company’s stock, 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 over the last 90 days. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.