Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 133,575 Shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,423,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 133,575 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Packaging Co. of America worth $2,571,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PKG. State Street Corp lifted its position 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $691,138,000 after buying an additional 132,836 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,337,296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $501,896,000 after acquiring an additional 12,936 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,565,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $352,305,000 after acquiring an additional 101,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,076,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $231,846,000 after acquiring an additional 35,827 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of PKG opened at $198.62 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.43. Packaging Co. of America has a 1 year low of $169.00 and a 1 year high of $250.82. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $17.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77.

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

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is presently 55.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on PKG. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. StockNews.com lowered Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Seaport Res Ptn raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted 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 research report on Monday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.