Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Takes $4.99 Million Position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 30,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,994,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 0.5% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 62,986 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,672,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 152.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 38,953 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,981,000 after purchasing an additional 23,519 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Packaging Co. of America by 16.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 159,277 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,457,000 after purchasing an additional 22,493 shares during the last quarter. Telemus Capital LLC bought a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the third quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 29.7% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 29,160 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,478,000 after purchasing an additional 6,675 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Packaging Co. of America stock opened at $176.27 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $15.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.03, a PEG ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $182.28 and its 200 day moving average is $169.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.77. Packaging Co. of America has a one year low of $122.20 and a one year high of $191.27.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 9.25%. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.21 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total value of $1,825,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,478,319.54. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total value of $1,825,100.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,478,319.54. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.06, for a total value of $2,507,681.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 187,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,975,365.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,041 shares of company stock valued at $6,799,177. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PKG shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $172.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Packaging Co. of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $187.00 to $191.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com lowered Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Seaport Res Ptn lowered Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $183.00 to $181.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.57.

About Packaging Co. of America

Packaging Corporation of America manufactures and sells containerboard and corrugated packaging products in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. The Packaging segment offers various containerboard and corrugated packaging products, such as conventional shipping containers used to protect and transport manufactured goods; multi-color boxes and displays that help to merchandise the packaged product in retail locations; and honeycomb protective packaging products, as well as packaging for meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, processed food, beverages, and other industrial and consumer products.