Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Increases Position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 476,137 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,900 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $107,193,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 5,561.0% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 4,642 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,045,000 after purchasing an additional 4,560 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Packaging Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $258,928,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 10,462 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,355,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 141,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,003,000 after acquiring an additional 14,253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Korea Investment CORP boosted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 96.0% in the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 71,004 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,985,000 after purchasing an additional 34,784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of PKG stock opened at $195.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.95. Packaging Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $250.82. The firm has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $210.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.04.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share 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, equities 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 55.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PKG shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Packaging Co. of America has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Profile

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.