Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 144,466 Shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Victory Capital Management Inc. cut its position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,949,182 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 144,466 shares during the period. Packaging Co. of America comprises about 0.5% of Victory Capital Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $480,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the third quarter worth $25,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the 3rd quarter worth about $46,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 3rd quarter worth about $53,000. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Packaging Co. of America news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 14,191 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 183,930 shares in the company, valued at $31,967,034. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.06, for a total transaction of $2,507,681.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 187,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,975,365.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 14,191 shares of the business’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 sale, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 38,041 shares of company stock worth $6,799,177. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PKG has been the subject of several research reports. 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 note on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $187.00 to $191.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. BNP Paribas cut shares of Packaging Co. of America from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $182.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $183.00 to $181.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn lowered shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $173.57.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Up 1.1 %

Packaging Co. of America stock traded up $1.98 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $174.96. The stock had a trading volume of 214,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 690,857. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The company has a market capitalization of $15.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81, a PEG ratio of 4.31 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $182.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $168.74. Packaging Co. of America has a one year low of $122.20 and a one year high of $191.27.

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. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.50%.

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.