B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Reduces Stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 38.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,451 shares during the quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $501,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PKG. Asset Dedication LLC boosted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 200.0% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 168 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division bought a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Tortoise Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 234.7% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the second quarter worth $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on PKG. StockNews.com upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 14th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on 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 reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $252.00 target price (up from $242.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $235.00 to $253.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.33.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

NYSE:PKG opened at $227.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.51, a PEG ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average of $234.92 and a 200 day moving average of $210.14. 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 1-year low of $159.57 and a 1-year high of $250.82.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.50 by $0.15. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 19.10%. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.05 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 9.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.28%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total value of $3,007,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 43,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,576,211.48. The trade was a 22.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total transaction of $563,247.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,252,253.33. The trade was a 20.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,064,152. 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.