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

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 7.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 68,062 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,300 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.08% of Packaging Co. of America worth $15,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PKG. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,948,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $855,212,000 after buying an additional 123,050 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,937,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $632,654,000 after acquiring an additional 98,223 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 0.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,337,296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $501,896,000 after acquiring an additional 12,936 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,076,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,846,000 after purchasing an additional 35,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 1,462.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 573,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $123,440,000 after purchasing an additional 536,389 shares during the period. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of PKG opened at $208.19 on Monday. Packaging Co. of America has a 52 week low of $169.00 and a 52 week high of $250.82. 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 stock has a market cap of $18.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.31, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $224.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $222.20.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released 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%. On average, analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $2,252,253.33. The trade was a 20.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PKG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (down previously from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.