Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Shares Sold by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,425 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 235 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $546,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PKG. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 44.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 2.7% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 12,145 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,616,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp acquired a new position in Packaging Co. of America during the third quarter worth about $541,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 24.1% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,386 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $298,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 1.0% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 229,989 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $49,540,000 after buying an additional 2,325 shares during the period. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of PKG opened at $197.35 on Thursday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $17.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.10, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $218.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.85. Packaging Co. of America has a 1 year low of $169.00 and a 1 year high of $250.82.

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 (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, sell-side analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on PKG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Citigroup upped 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. 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, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two research 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Company 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.