Retirement Systems of Alabama Lowers Position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 218,535 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 153 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned about 0.24% of Packaging Co. of America worth $49,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 1,462.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 573,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $123,440,000 after acquiring an additional 536,389 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in Packaging Co. of America by 41,151.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 155,519 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,499,000 after purchasing an additional 155,142 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in Packaging Co. of America by 218.1% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 207,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,739,000 after purchasing an additional 142,400 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in Packaging Co. of America by 1,800.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 130,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,128,000 after purchasing an additional 123,711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,948,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $855,212,000 after acquiring an additional 123,050 shares in the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (down from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

PKG stock opened at $210.63 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Packaging Co. of America has a twelve month low of $159.57 and a twelve month high of $250.82. The business’s fifty day moving average is $232.54 and its 200-day moving average is $220.87. The company has a market cap of $18.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.77.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 11.15 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.37%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.99%.

Insider Activity at Packaging Co. of America

In other news, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of Packaging Co. of America 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,252,253.33. The trade was a 20.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 12,500 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.62, for a total transaction of $3,007,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 43,954 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,576,211.48. This trade represents a 22.14 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,300 shares of company stock valued at $8,064,152 over the last three months. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.