Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Acquires New Stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC bought a new position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 600 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $135,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. SYM FINANCIAL Corp raised its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,405 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,586 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,165 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 371 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $80,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 1,384 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of Packaging Co. of America stock opened at $208.19 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. Packaging Co. of America has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $250.82. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $224.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $221.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.77.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 19.67%. Analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 55.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on PKG. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Packaging Co. of America news, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total value of $563,247.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,252,253.33. This trade represents a 20.01 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.