New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 9,824 Shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 94,963 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,824 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.11% of Packaging Co. of America worth $15,470,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 0.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,186,729 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $335,772,000 after purchasing an additional 11,536 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 4.6% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,337,507 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $205,389,000 after buying an additional 58,444 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 12.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,154,823 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $177,323,000 after buying an additional 131,058 shares during the period. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the third quarter worth $123,821,000. Finally, Atlas FRM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 17.9% during the third quarter. Atlas FRM LLC now owns 460,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $70,633,000 after acquiring an additional 70,000 shares during the period. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PKG. StockNews.com lowered shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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. Citigroup reduced 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 report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $187.00 to $191.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $172.00 to $202.00 in a report on Monday, March 4th. 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, Packaging Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.57.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 14,191 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.80, for a total value of $2,466,395.80. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 183,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $31,967,034. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Packaging Co. of America news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 14,191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.80, for a total value of $2,466,395.80. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 183,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,967,034. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.06, for a total value of $2,507,681.00. Following the sale, 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. Insiders sold a total of 38,041 shares of company stock valued at $6,799,177 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE PKG opened at $177.03 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $15.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.78. Packaging Co. of America has a 12 month low of $122.20 and a 12 month high of $191.27. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $182.10 and a 200-day moving average of $168.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.57, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.63 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.25% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 62.50%.

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.