Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 5,339 Shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 130,628 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,339 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.15% of Packaging Co. of America worth $28,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 1,462.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 573,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,440,000 after buying an additional 536,389 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 34.3% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,027,585 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $187,596,000 after acquiring an additional 262,315 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 164.3% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 401,360 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $73,272,000 after acquiring an additional 249,483 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 41,151.7% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 155,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,499,000 after acquiring an additional 155,142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Packaging Co. of America by 218.1% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 207,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,739,000 after purchasing an additional 142,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PKG. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $199.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $252.00 price objective (up from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.33.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Down 1.4 %

PKG opened at $229.22 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.95 and a quick ratio of 1.98. Packaging Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $159.57 and a fifty-two week high of $250.82. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $234.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $210.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.77.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 19.10%. Packaging Co. of America’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.05 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.28%.

Insider Activity at Packaging Co. of America

In related news, SVP Donald R. Shirley sold 8,000 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.20, for a total transaction of $1,921,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 15,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,777,145. This trade represents a 33.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total transaction of $3,007,750.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,954 shares in the company, valued at $10,576,211.48. This trade represents a 22.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,300 shares of company stock worth $8,064,152 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Profile

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.