Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires Shares of 5,900 Packaging Corporation of America $PKG

Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 5,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,252,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Packaging Corporation of America by 140.0% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 156 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych PZU SA boosted its position in 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 valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Navalign LLC bought a new stake in Packaging Corporation of America during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America during the first quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PKG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Packaging Corporation of America from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $271.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Truist Financial raised their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $258.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Packaging Corporation of America from $269.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Packaging Corporation of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $256.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $264.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Packaging Corporation of America news, CEO Mark W. Kowlzan sold 9,266 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 473,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $102,811,258.80. This trade represents a 1.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 12,531 shares of Packaging Corporation of America stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $3,132,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 218,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,687,750. This trade represents a 5.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 37,657 shares of company stock worth $9,199,044 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Corporation of America Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE PKG opened at $257.41 on Friday. Packaging Corporation of America has a 1-year low of $191.50 and a 1-year high of $259.98. The company has a 50-day moving average of $237.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $226.25. The company has a market cap of $22.93 billion, a PE ratio of 33.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 3.07, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.31 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.49 billion. Packaging Corporation of America had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 18.96%. Packaging Corporation of America’s revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. Packaging Corporation of America has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.910-2.910 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Packaging Corporation of America

Here are the key news stories impacting Packaging Corporation of America this week:

• Positive Sentiment: UBS raised its price target from $271 to $292 and upgraded its view to “buy.” The new target implies approximately 13.4% upside from the referenced share price, making this the clearest bullish catalyst for PKG. Benzinga report
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research increased its Q2 2028 EPS estimate to $3.73 from $3.48 and its FY2028 forecast to $14.56 from $13.99. The upgrades suggest analysts see improved longer-term earnings potential for the packaging manufacturer, supporting the investment case. MarketBeat PKG analyst estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Packaging Corporation of America recently exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $2.35 versus the $2.31 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 14.7% year over year to $2.49 billion. However, the stock’s valuation remains elevated at roughly 33 times earnings, which could limit gains if earnings growth slows.
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks lowered its Q3 2026 EPS estimate to $2.91 from $3.07 and trimmed its FY2026 forecast to $10.40 from $10.42. The modest near-term reductions indicate some pressure on expected results, although the Q3 estimate matches the company’s guidance and the longer-term forecasts were raised. MarketBeat PKG earnings estimates
• Negative Sentiment: President Thomas Hassfurther sold 7,063 shares for approximately $1.79 million. The transaction reduced his direct ownership by 3.36% and may concern investors, though he continues to hold roughly 202,891 shares. InsiderTrades report on the executive sale

About Packaging Corporation of America

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.