New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 94,963 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,824 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $15,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 58.0% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 68,432 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,148,000 after purchasing an additional 25,115 shares during the last quarter. Foster & Motley Inc. bought a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth $209,000. Monument Capital Management purchased a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth about $294,000. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at about $391,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 50,376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,207,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on PKG. StockNews.com lowered shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America upgraded 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 research report on Monday, March 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Packaging Co. of America from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $187.00 to $191.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. BNP Paribas lowered Packaging Co. of America from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $182.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.57.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PKG opened at $177.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.89 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.21 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.57. Packaging Co. of America has a 52-week low of $122.20 and a 52-week high of $191.27. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $182.10 and a 200 day moving average of $168.58.

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 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.20 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.50%.

Packaging Co. of America Profile

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.