Principal Financial Group Inc. Purchases 3,381 Shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 463,899 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 3,381 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $104,445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 150.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 234.7% in the third 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. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 44.6% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the third quarter valued at $64,000. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 0.1 %

Packaging Co. of America stock opened at $212.19 on Wednesday. Packaging Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $167.60 and a fifty-two week high of $250.82. The stock has a market cap of $19.06 billion, a PE ratio of 23.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $225.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.95.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.04). Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 9.60%. Research analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on PKG. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price (down from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Packaging Co. of America news, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total transaction of $563,247.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,252,253.33. The trade was a 20.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Packaging Co. of America Company Profile

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.