Packaging Corporation of America $PKG Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group trimmed its stake in Packaging Corporation of America by 2.5% in the first quarter, selling 12,325 shares and leaving it with 480,396 shares valued at about $101.9 million.
• Several analysts turned more positive on PKG, with UBS, Bank of America, Truist, and Deutsche Bank raising price targets and most maintaining or upgrading to buy ratings. The stock now carries a consensus Moderate Buy rating and a target price of $256.14.
• Packaging Corporation of America recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.50 from $1.25, while its latest earnings beat EPS estimates at $2.40 per share but missed revenue expectations. The company also posted year-over-year revenue growth of 10.6% in that quarter.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 480,396 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 12,325 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.54% of Packaging Corporation of America worth $101,948,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 6.5% in the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,034 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Financial Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America by 0.7% during the first quarter. Financial Advisory Partners LLC now owns 12,566 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,667,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel raised its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 2.8% in the first quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel now owns 16,644 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,532,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Packaging Corporation of America by 44.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 109,320 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $23,200,000 after acquiring an additional 33,419 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Financial Strategies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Summit Financial Strategies Inc. now owns 245,657 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $52,133,000 after purchasing an additional 2,404 shares in the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Mark W. Kowlzan sold 9,266 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 473,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at $102,811,258.80. This trade represents a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PKG shares. Citigroup upped their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $229.00 to $241.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group upgraded Packaging Corporation of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $232.00 to $248.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Bank of America upped their target price on Packaging Corporation of America from $242.00 to $263.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial raised their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Packaging Corporation of America from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $225.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $256.14.

More Packaging Corporation of America News

Here are the key news stories impacting Packaging Corporation of America this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Truist Financial raised its price target on Packaging Corporation of America to $270 from $258 and reiterated a buy rating, implying meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga report on Truist target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America also lifted its price target to $263 from $242 and maintained a buy rating, reinforcing optimism about PKG’s valuation and earnings outlook. Benzinga report on Bank of America target increase
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple articles note that Packaging Corporation of America is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on Wednesday, keeping investors focused on the company’s near-term results and guidance. Packaging Corporation of America (PKG) Projected to Post Quarterly Earnings on Wednesday
• Neutral Sentiment: An earnings preview from Zacks says PKG is not set up for a likely earnings beat and expects Q2 earnings to decline, which could temper enthusiasm if the report falls short of expectations. Earnings Preview: Packaging Corp. (PKG) Q2 Earnings Expected to Decline
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, analyst coverage remains generally constructive, with Packaging Corporation of America carrying an average recommendation of Moderate Buy. Packaging Corporation of America NYSE: PKG Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Packaging Corporation of America Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of PKG opened at $227.68 on Thursday. 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 50 day simple moving average of $225.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.53. Packaging Corporation of America has a 1-year low of $189.03 and a 1-year high of $249.51. The stock has a market cap of $20.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.80.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. Packaging Corporation of America had a return on equity of 19.27% and a net margin of 8.04%.Packaging Corporation of America's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.31 EPS. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.330-2.330 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Corporation of America Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $1.50 dividend. This is an increase from Packaging Corporation of America's previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Packaging Corporation of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.99%.

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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