Principal Securities Inc. Buys 506 Shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 38.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,806 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 506 shares during the quarter. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PKG. Creative Planning increased its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 3.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 16,842 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,628,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Packaging Co. of America during the third quarter worth approximately $108,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 41,151.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 155,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,499,000 after buying an additional 155,142 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 0.4% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 74,487 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,044,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE PKG opened at $208.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.31, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $224.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.00. Packaging Co. of America has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $250.82.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PKG shares. StockNews.com cut Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price (down previously from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup upped their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Packaging Co. of America news, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 9,197 shares in the company, valued at $2,252,253.33. This represents a 20.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.