Great Lakes Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 79.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,130 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,372 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $254,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 1,462.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 573,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,440,000 after purchasing an additional 536,389 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,175,000. Conning Inc. purchased a new stake in Packaging Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,329,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 218.1% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 207,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,739,000 after acquiring an additional 142,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,069,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $691,138,000 after purchasing an additional 132,836 shares during the period. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

PKG stock opened at $196.68 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.95 and a quick ratio of 1.98. Packaging Co. of America has a 1 year low of $169.00 and a 1 year high of $250.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $217.04 and a 200 day moving average of $222.83. The company has a market cap of $17.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.02, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PKG. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup upped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.