Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Lowers Stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC reduced its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,676 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $6,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Foster & Motley Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth $209,000. Monument Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth about $294,000. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth about $391,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 50,376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,207,000 after buying an additional 503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 46.8% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 4.7 %

PKG stock opened at $170.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.77. Packaging Co. of America has a 1-year low of $122.20 and a 1-year high of $191.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $181.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.02. The firm has a market cap of $15.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.78.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.24 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Insider Activity at Packaging Co. of America

In related news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 14,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.80, for a total value of $2,466,395.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 183,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,967,034. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Packaging Co. of America news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total value of $1,825,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,478,319.54. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 14,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.80, for a total transaction of $2,466,395.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 183,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,967,034. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,041 shares of company stock worth $6,799,177 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts 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 boosted their target price for the company from $172.00 to $202.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $170.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Seaport Res Ptn cut shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut shares of Packaging Co. of America from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $182.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $173.86.

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.