Trexquant Investment LP Boosts Stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 371.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 105,694 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 83,261 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $23,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,423,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,571,821,000 after acquiring an additional 133,575 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 3.2% in 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 period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $691,138,000 after purchasing an additional 132,836 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,366,723 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $531,540,000 after purchasing an additional 29,427 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,565,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $352,305,000 after purchasing an additional 101,755 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PKG shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. 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 research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup boosted their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of PKG stock opened at $197.94 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $17.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.17, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. Packaging Co. of America has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $250.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $209.67 and its 200 day moving average is $222.21.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.04). Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 19.67%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.53%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.99%.

Packaging Co. of America Company Profile

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.