Rockland Trust Co. Invests $376,000 in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Rockland Trust Co. bought a new stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,671 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $376,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PKG. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 150.8% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 163 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 234.7% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 44.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the third quarter valued at $64,000. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on PKG. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $252.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $238.67.

Insider Activity at Packaging Co. of America

In other news, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total value of $563,247.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,197 shares in the company, valued at $2,252,253.33. This trade represents a 20.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.91, for a total transaction of $2,571,555.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,881 shares in the company, valued at $2,175,045.71. The trade was a 54.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 33,300 shares of company stock worth $8,064,152. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Up 1.2 %

PKG opened at $235.49 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $235.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $215.95. 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 has a twelve month low of $159.57 and a twelve month high of $250.82. The stock has a market cap of $21.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.45, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.79.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.50 by $0.15. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.10% and a net margin of 9.46%. The business had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.05 earnings per share. Packaging Co. of America’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.28%.

About Packaging Co. of America

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.