Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) Position Reduced by Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,958 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 544 shares during the quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $2,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PKG. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,948,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $855,212,000 after purchasing an additional 123,050 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,069,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $691,138,000 after buying an additional 132,836 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,337,296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $501,896,000 after buying an additional 12,936 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,565,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $352,305,000 after acquiring an additional 101,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,076,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,846,000 after acquiring an additional 35,827 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PKG opened at $197.30 on Friday. Packaging Co. of America has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $250.82. The company has a market cap of $17.72 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $214.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.34. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.53%. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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. Finally, Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price target (down from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.00.

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.