Packaging Corporation of America $PKG Shares Sold by Vest Financial LLC

Key Points

• Vest Financial cut its stake in Packaging Corporation of America (PKG) by 42.4% in Q4, selling 4,693 shares and now holds 6,371 shares worth about $1.314 million.
• PKG beat Q1 EPS expectations ($2.40 vs. $2.17) with revenue up 10.6% year-over-year but slightly below forecasts; the company set Q2 guidance at $2.33 EPS and analysts' average target is $229.86 (average rating: "Moderate Buy").
• Insider selling: President Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 12,129 shares at an average $230.50 (~$2.80 million), reducing his ownership by ~5.8%, while insiders own about 1.6% of the stock.

Vest Financial LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Free Report) by 42.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,371 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,693 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in Packaging Corporation of America were worth $1,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PKG. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 223.6% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,516,562 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $330,504,000 after buying an additional 1,047,902 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 119.9% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,863,359 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $406,082,000 after buying an additional 1,015,894 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 13.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,085,196 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $672,357,000 after buying an additional 370,573 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 26.9% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,664,470 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $362,719,000 after buying an additional 353,095 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cartenna Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America during the third quarter worth $75,186,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PKG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $227.00 to $217.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Packaging Corporation of America from $225.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $225.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $258.00 price objective (down from $260.00) on shares of Packaging Corporation of America in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $229.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 12,129 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.50, for a total transaction of $2,795,734.50. Following the sale, the president owned 197,062 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $45,422,791. This represents a 5.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Packaging Corporation of America Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of PKG opened at $213.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.17, a quick ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Packaging Corporation of America has a 12-month low of $178.30 and a 12-month high of $249.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $215.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.90.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 8.04% and a return on equity of 19.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 earnings per share. Packaging Corporation of America's quarterly 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.84 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Corporation of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. Packaging Corporation of America's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.83%.

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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