Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Raises Stock Holdings in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 58.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 68,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 25,115 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $11,148,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of Packaging Co. of America stock traded down $6.71 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $172.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 674,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 688,697. Packaging Co. of America has a one year low of $122.20 and a one year high of $191.27. The firm has a market cap of $15.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.33 and a beta of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $181.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.57.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 20.25% and a net margin of 9.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PKG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $170.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Bank of America raised Packaging Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $172.00 to $202.00 in a research note on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com lowered Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Seaport Res Ptn cut Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Packaging Co. of America news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.06, for a total transaction of $2,507,681.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 187,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,975,365.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Packaging Co. of America news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.06, for a total transaction of $2,507,681.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 187,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,975,365.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total transaction of $1,825,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,478,319.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,041 shares of company stock worth $6,799,177 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

About Packaging Co. of America

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.