Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Acquires 18,774 Shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 18.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 122,399 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 18,774 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.14% of Packaging Co. of America worth $19,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PKG. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Packaging Co. of America news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total value of $1,825,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,478,319.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 14,191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.80, for a total value of $2,466,395.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 183,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,967,034. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,041 shares of company stock valued at $6,799,177. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Packaging Co. of America stock traded up $1.60 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $172.85. The stock had a trading volume of 473,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 696,320. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $181.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $168.21. The company has a market capitalization of $15.51 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 0.78. Packaging Co. of America has a 52-week low of $122.20 and a 52-week high of $191.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.24 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 62.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PKG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Packaging Co. of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $187.00 to $191.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $170.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Bank of America raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $172.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $173.57.

Packaging Co. of America Company 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.