Park Avenue Securities LLC Reduces Holdings in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Park Avenue Securities LLC reduced its position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 14.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,075 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $1,227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PKG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 4.5% during the 4th 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 raised its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,853,092 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $417,187,000 after purchasing an additional 14,775 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,565,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $352,305,000 after buying an additional 101,755 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE PKG opened at $193.22 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.95. Packaging Co. of America has a one year low of $172.72 and a one year high of $250.82. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.84.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The industrial products company reported $2.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $2.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.12 billion. Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 9.60%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PKG shares. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, April 6th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $265.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $180.00 target price (down previously from $205.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a report on Friday, May 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.17.

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.