Norges Bank Acquires New Shares in Packaging Corporation of America $PKG

Key Points

• Norges Bank disclosed a new stake in Packaging Corporation of America, buying 1.15 million shares worth about $237.6 million and ending the quarter with roughly 1.28% ownership.
• CEO Mark W. Kowlzan sold 9,266 shares for about $2.0 million, reducing his direct stake by 1.92%; insiders still own 1.60% of the company.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.50 per share from $1.25, while its latest earnings beat EPS estimates but revenue came in below expectations.

Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,152,348 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $237,649,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.28% of Packaging Corporation of America at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PKG. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $484,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. River Street Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 5,362 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,106,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $398,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 40.7% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 197 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 40.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Mark W. Kowlzan sold 9,266 shares of Packaging Corporation of America stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 473,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $102,811,258.80. This trade represents a 1.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Packaging Corporation of America Stock Performance

NYSE PKG opened at $225.06 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $213.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $214.88. Packaging Corporation of America has a 1 year low of $184.76 and a 1 year high of $249.51.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.17 by $0.23. Packaging Corporation of America had a return on equity of 19.27% and a net margin of 8.04%.The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.330-2.330 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.81 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Corporation of America Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This is an increase from Packaging Corporation of America's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Packaging Corporation of America's payout ratio is 60.83%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on PKG. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and issued a $258.00 price target (down from $260.00) on shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a report on Monday, April 27th. 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 increased their price target for the stock from $232.00 to $248.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $225.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Argus upgraded Packaging Corporation of America to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $236.57.

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.

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