Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Lowers Stock Holdings in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS trimmed its position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,960 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 450 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $4,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 17.0% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,366,000 after buying an additional 2,946 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $293,000. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 9,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,180,000 after purchasing an additional 1,954 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,966,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $547,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PKG shares. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of Packaging Co. of America stock opened at $194.30 on Monday. 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 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $250.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $214.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $222.47.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued 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 return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 9.60%. Equities research analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio 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.