Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Lowers Position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC cut its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 42,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 4,676 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $6,997,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Foster & Motley Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Monument Capital Management bought a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth about $294,000. Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth about $391,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 50,376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,207,000 after purchasing an additional 503 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 46.8% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the period. 89.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on PKG. StockNews.com downgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $172.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. 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. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $172.00 to $202.00 in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Packaging Co. of America currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $173.86.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of Packaging Co. of America stock opened at $170.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 1.77. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $168.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.35 and a beta of 0.78. Packaging Co. of America has a one year low of $122.20 and a one year high of $191.27.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.09. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 9.25%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.20 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.24 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.50%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.51, for a total transaction of $1,825,100.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,454 shares in the company, valued at $8,478,319.54. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Packaging Co. of America news, VP Thomas A. Hassfurther sold 13,850 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.06, for a total value of $2,507,681.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 187,647 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,975,365.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Robert P. Mundy sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 46,454 shares in the company, valued at $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. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Company 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.