Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Hits New 1-Year High at $190.74

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $190.74 and last traded at $190.71, with a volume of 672068 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $187.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PKG shares. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Bank of America raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $172.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $170.00 to $187.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $169.50.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.57. The stock's 50-day moving average is $178.08 and its 200 day moving average is $165.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a P/E/G ratio of 4.59 and a beta of 0.78.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The industrial products company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $1.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.81% and a return on equity of 20.25%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. Packaging Co. of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.96%.

Insider Transactions at Packaging Co. of America

In related news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total transaction of $1,825,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,454 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,478,319.54. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.06, for a total value of $2,507,681.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 187,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,975,365.82. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total transaction of $1,825,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,454 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,478,319.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 38,041 shares of company stock worth $6,799,177 over the last ninety days. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Packaging Co. of America

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PKG. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 80.8% in the first quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 55,419 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $10,517,000 after purchasing an additional 24,764 shares during the period. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.8% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,754 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $523,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $346,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $294,000. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $271,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company's stock.

About Packaging Co. of America

Packaging Corporation of America manufactures and sells containerboard and corrugated packaging products in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. The Packaging segment offers various containerboard and corrugated packaging products, such as conventional shipping containers used to protect and transport manufactured goods; multi-color boxes and displays that help to merchandise the packaged product in retail locations; and honeycomb protective packaging products, as well as packaging for meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, processed food, beverages, and other industrial and consumer products.