Packaging Corporation of America $PKG Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lowered its position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) by 4.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 321,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 15,079 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Packaging Corporation of America were worth $73,732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. John Boyer Inc. acquired a new position in Packaging Corporation of America in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Packaging Corporation of America during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS bought a new position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Lynch Investment Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PKG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised Packaging Corporation of America from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 27th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $280.00 to $260.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Packaging Corporation of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Packaging Corporation of America from $253.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Packaging Corporation of America from $292.00 to $289.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Packaging Corporation of America news, VP Donald Shirley sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.71, for a total transaction of $3,008,520.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 19,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,791,068.10. This represents a 38.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Packaging Corporation of America Trading Up 1.8%

PKG opened at $254.31 on Tuesday. Packaging Corporation of America has a 1-year low of $191.50 and a 1-year high of $262.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.66 billion, a PE ratio of 31.32, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.94, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $238.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $230.50.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The industrial products company reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.11. Packaging Corporation of America had a net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 19.63%. The company had revenue of $2.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.73 earnings per share. Packaging Corporation of America’s quarterly revenue was up 12.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Corporation of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $1.50 dividend. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. Packaging Corporation of America’s payout ratio is 73.89%.

About Packaging Corporation of America