Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 6.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,297 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 624 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $1,677,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at about $46,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 485.7% during the 4th quarter. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 328 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $172.00 to $202.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $187.00 to $191.00 in a report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas downgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $182.00 price target for the company. in a report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $173.86.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PKG traded up $2.15 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $173.03. The stock had a trading volume of 372,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 694,690. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $181.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $15.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.78. Packaging Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $122.20 and a fifty-two week high of $191.27.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.09. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. Packaging Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Packaging Co. of America

In other news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the firm’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 transaction, 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 available at this link. In related news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the 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 owns 187,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,975,365.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,478,319.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,041 shares of company stock worth $6,799,177 in the last ninety days. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Packaging Co. of America 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.