Meridian Wealth Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,211 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $476,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 15.2% during the third quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 1.4% during the second quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,859 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 0.5% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 10,075 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,170,000 after buying an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 0.6% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 9,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,773,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 2.1% during the second quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 2,689 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $491,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE PKG opened at $246.39 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.72, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.76. Packaging Co. of America has a twelve month low of $153.58 and a twelve month high of $248.62. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $202.61. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.10% and a net margin of 9.46%. Packaging Co. of America’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.05 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 16th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $252.00 price target (up from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $221.60.

Insider Activity

In other Packaging Co. of America news, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,175,045.71. This trade represents a 54.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total transaction of $3,007,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,576,211.48. This trade represents a 22.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,500,905 in the last ninety days. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company 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.