Cannell & Spears LLC Sells 9,472 Shares of Packaging Corporation of America $PKG

Key Points

• Cannell & Spears LLC reduced its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 11.0% in the first quarter, selling 9,472 shares and ending with 76,514 shares worth about $16.24 million.
• Packaging Corporation of America reported better-than-expected Q2 earnings, posting $2.35 EPS versus $2.31 expected, while revenue came in at $2.49 billion and rose 14.7% year over year.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.50 per share, or $6.00 annualized, and analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $256.43.

Cannell & Spears LLC lowered its position in Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Free Report) by 11.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 76,514 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 9,472 shares during the quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC owned 0.09% of Packaging Corporation of America worth $16,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Packaging Corporation of America during the 4th quarter worth approximately $237,649,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 19,710.3% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 893,446 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $189,607,000 after acquiring an additional 888,936 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,309,412 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $476,270,000 after acquiring an additional 521,352 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 100.3% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 983,216 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $202,769,000 after purchasing an additional 492,410 shares during the period. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,792,936 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $575,987,000 after purchasing an additional 453,319 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PKG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Packaging Corporation of America from $269.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Packaging Corporation of America from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. UBS Group upgraded Packaging Corporation of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $232.00 to $248.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Truist Financial increased their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $246.00 price objective (up from $245.00) on shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Packaging Corporation of America has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $256.43.

Packaging Corporation of America Trading Up 8.4%

PKG opened at $253.48 on Friday. Packaging Corporation of America has a twelve month low of $189.03 and a twelve month high of $254.49. The company has a fifty day moving average of $227.44 and a 200-day moving average of $222.70. The stock has a market cap of $22.59 billion, a PE ratio of 32.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 3.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. Packaging Corporation of America had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 18.96%. Packaging Corporation of America's revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.910-2.910 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.46 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Corporation of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $1.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from Packaging Corporation of America's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Packaging Corporation of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.92%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark W. Kowlzan sold 9,266 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.08, for a total transaction of $2,011,463.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 473,610 shares in the company, valued at $102,811,258.80. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Packaging Corporation of America Profile

Packaging Corporation of America NYSE: PKG is a leading North American manufacturer of containerboard and corrugated packaging products. The company produces a range of paper-based packaging solutions including linerboard, corrugating medium, corrugated shipping containers, retail-ready packaging and point-of-purchase displays. In addition to core packaging products, Packaging Corporation of America offers packaging design, testing and supply-chain services intended to optimize protection, cost and sustainability for customers.

Headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, the company operates an integrated network of mills and corrugated manufacturing facilities across the United States and serves customers throughout North America in industries such as e-commerce, grocery and food & beverage, consumer packaged goods and industrial markets.

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