Private Advisor Group LLC Reduces Holdings in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Private Advisor Group LLC trimmed its stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 4.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,087 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 303 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $1,595,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PKG. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1,462.2% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 573,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,440,000 after purchasing an additional 536,389 shares during the period. Conning Inc. purchased a new position in Packaging Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,329,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 218.1% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 207,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,739,000 after acquiring an additional 142,400 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 1,800.2% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 130,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,128,000 after acquiring an additional 123,711 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,948,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $855,212,000 after acquiring an additional 123,050 shares during the period. 89.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price target (down from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.00.

Insider Activity at Packaging Co. of America

In other Packaging Co. of America news, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total value of $563,247.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,197 shares in the company, valued at $2,252,253.33. This represents a 20.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PKG opened at $212.86 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $222.82 and a 200 day moving average of $222.36. The company has a current ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. Packaging Co. of America has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $250.82.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.04). Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 19.67%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.99%.

About Packaging Co. of America

Packaging Corporation of America engages in the production of container products. It operates through the following segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. The Packaging segment offers a variety of corrugated packaging products, such as conventional shipping containers. The Paper segment manufactures and sells a range of papers, including communication-based papers, and pressure sensitive papers.