New York State Common Retirement Fund Reduces Stock Holdings in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 7.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 68,062 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,300 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $15,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Packaging Co. of America by 234.7% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 150.8% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 163 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Packaging Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in Packaging Co. of America by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the third quarter worth about $64,000. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total value of $563,247.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,252,253.33. This trade represents a 20.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Seaport Res Ptn raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup upped 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. StockNews.com downgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of Packaging Co. of America stock opened at $208.19 on Monday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $224.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.20. The firm has a market cap of $18.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a P/E/G 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.99%.

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.