Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Stock Holdings Lowered by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its holdings in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 70,749 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 777 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $15,928,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in PKG. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 period. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 150.8% during the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 163 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 44.6% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the third quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PKG shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective 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 shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.00.

Insider Transactions at Packaging Co. of America

In related news, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.91, for a total transaction of $2,571,555.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,881 shares in the company, valued at $2,175,045.71. This represents a 54.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total transaction of $563,247.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,252,253.33. The trade was a 20.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

PKG stock opened at $212.54 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company has a market capitalization of $19.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.77. Packaging Co. of America has a 12 month low of $165.20 and a 12 month high of $250.82. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $226.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $221.65.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued 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 return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 9.60%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Packaging Co. of America’s 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.