Cannell & Spears LLC Sells 1,929 Shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Cannell & Spears LLC lessened its stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 49,891 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,929 shares during the quarter. Cannell & Spears LLC owned about 0.06% of Packaging Co. of America worth $11,232,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,423,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,571,821,000 after acquiring an additional 133,575 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 3.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,948,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $855,212,000 after purchasing an additional 123,050 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,069,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $691,138,000 after purchasing an additional 132,836 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 0.6% in 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 during the period. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,565,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $352,305,000 after purchasing an additional 101,755 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Down 1.4 %

Packaging Co. of America stock opened at $195.40 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.95 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $210.46 and a 200-day moving average of $222.28. The company has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. Packaging Co. of America has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $250.82.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 earnings per share 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, equities analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup lifted their price target on 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. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $233.00.

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.