Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Decreases Stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 224,726 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,263 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.25% of Packaging Co. of America worth $50,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,948,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $855,212,000 after acquiring an additional 123,050 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,937,113 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $632,654,000 after purchasing an additional 98,223 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,337,296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $501,896,000 after purchasing an additional 12,936 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,076,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,846,000 after purchasing an additional 35,827 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 1,462.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 573,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $123,440,000 after buying an additional 536,389 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.91, for a total transaction of $2,571,555.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,881 shares in the company, valued at $2,175,045.71. This represents a 54.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total transaction of $563,247.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PKG. Jefferies Financial Group raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com cut Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (down previously from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PKG opened at $209.37 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $18.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.77. Packaging Co. of America has a twelve month low of $163.68 and a twelve month high of $250.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $229.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $221.35. 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, research analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 20th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.99%.

Packaging Co. of America 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.