Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Makes New Investment in Packaging Corporation of America $PKG

Key Points

• Louisiana State Employees Retirement System opened a new position in Packaging Corporation of America, buying 4,600 shares worth about $976,000 in the first quarter.
• The stock has seen broad institutional interest, with large holders like Vanguard, State Street, and JPMorgan adding shares; institutional investors now own 89.78% of the company.
• Packaging Corporation of America reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $2.40 per share and raised its dividend to $1.50 per share quarterly, even as CEO Mark W. Kowlzan sold shares in late May.

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $976,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,279,442 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,326,159,000 after buying an additional 51,790 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,185,761 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $868,349,000 after acquiring an additional 54,884 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,478,505 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $717,372,000 after acquiring an additional 83,978 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,316,670 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $683,997,000 after purchasing an additional 231,474 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,816,736 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $580,897,000 after purchasing an additional 73,047 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $232.00 to $248.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Packaging Corporation of America from $225.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Packaging Corporation of America from $234.00 to $226.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Packaging Corporation of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Packaging Corporation of America from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Packaging Corporation of America presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $241.83.

Packaging Corporation of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PKG opened at $237.99 on Monday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $223.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $220.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 3.07 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.95, a PEG ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.80. Packaging Corporation of America has a one year low of $189.03 and a one year high of $249.51.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.17 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. Packaging Corporation of America had a net margin of 8.04% and a return on equity of 19.27%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.31 earnings per share. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.330-2.330 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Corporation of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. This is a boost from Packaging Corporation of America's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Packaging Corporation of America's dividend payout ratio is currently 72.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Packaging Corporation of America

In related news, CEO Mark W. Kowlzan sold 9,266 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.08, for a total value of $2,011,463.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 473,610 shares in the company, valued at $102,811,258.80. The trade was a 1.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

About Packaging Corporation of America

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.