Sigma Planning Corp Acquires 58 Shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Sigma Planning Corp raised its holdings in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,568 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $578,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1,462.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 573,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $123,440,000 after purchasing an additional 536,389 shares during the period. Conning Inc. bought a new position in Packaging Co. of America during the fourth quarter worth about $32,329,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 218.1% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 207,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $44,739,000 after buying an additional 142,400 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1,800.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 130,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,128,000 after acquiring an additional 123,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,948,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $855,212,000 after acquiring an additional 123,050 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PKG shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. 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 research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two investment 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total transaction of $563,247.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,252,253.33. This represents a 20.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Packaging Co. of America stock opened at $212.86 on Thursday. Packaging Co. of America has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $250.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.95. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $222.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $222.36. The firm has a market cap of $19.12 billion, a PE ratio of 23.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 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.