Alliancebernstein L.P. Has $22.55 Million Stock Holdings in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Alliancebernstein L.P. decreased its stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 100,152 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,370 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $22,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 150.8% in the fourth quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 163 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Centricity Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $63,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Packaging Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth $68,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com lowered Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

Packaging Co. of America stock opened at $180.65 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $204.73 and its 200-day moving average is $221.42. The company has a market capitalization of $16.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.23, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.84. Packaging Co. of America has a 12 month low of $169.00 and a 12 month high of $250.82. The company has a current ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.