Packaging Corporation of America $PKG Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

First Trust Advisors LP lowered its position in Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) by 26.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 267,362 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 96,630 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Packaging Corporation of America were worth $56,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 140.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 94.1% in the fourth quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA now owns 165 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Navalign LLC acquired a new position in Packaging Corporation of America during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 40.4% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Mark W. Kowlzan sold 9,266 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.08, for a total value of $2,011,463.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 473,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,811,258.80. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PKG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $232.00 to $248.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Packaging Corporation of America from $269.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial upped 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, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Packaging Corporation of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $225.00 to $256.00 in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Packaging Corporation of America from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.43.

Packaging Corporation of America Price Performance

Shares of PKG stock opened at $253.48 on Monday. 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’s 50-day moving average is $227.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $222.78. Packaging Corporation of America has a 12 month low of $189.03 and a 12 month high of $254.49. The company has a market capitalization of $22.59 billion, a PE ratio of 32.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.80.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. Packaging Corporation of America had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 18.96%. The company had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. Packaging Corporation of America’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.910-2.910 EPS. Analysts predict that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Corporation of America Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $1.50 dividend. This is a boost from Packaging Corporation of America’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $6.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Packaging Corporation of America’s payout ratio is currently 77.92%.

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.