Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Increases Position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 24.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 29,673 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,823 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $6,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased 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 valued at $4,366,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at $293,000. AlphaQuest LLC increased its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 25.3% in the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 9,683 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,180,000 after acquiring an additional 1,954 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth $6,966,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $547,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 1.5 %

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. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $214.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.47. Packaging Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week high of $250.82. The company has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a PE ratio of 21.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PKG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price target (down previously from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Three research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.