Prudential Financial Inc. Lowers Stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Prudential Financial Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 16.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 50,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,378 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $11,454,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 105.2% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 15,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,410,000 after buying an additional 8,117 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 234.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 10,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,357,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Packaging Co. of America by 21.8% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,090 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $235,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 19.0% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 101,641 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $21,924,000 after purchasing an additional 16,219 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Down 1.4 %

PKG opened at $195.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.95 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $210.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $222.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. Packaging Co. of America has a 1-year low of $169.00 and a 1-year high of $250.82.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PKG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (down from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Packaging Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.