Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Purchases Shares of 30,943 Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 30,943 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,966,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,270 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,366,000 after purchasing an additional 2,946 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 24.2% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,431 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 8.4% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 460,518 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $99,194,000 after acquiring an additional 35,614 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 227.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 32,243 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,945,000 after acquiring an additional 22,397 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 30.7% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 115,005 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $24,772,000 after acquiring an additional 27,018 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Packaging Co. of America news, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,175,045.71. This trade represents a 54.18 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total value of $563,247.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,252,253.33. The trade was a 20.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of PKG stock opened at $212.54 on Friday. Packaging Co. of America has a one year low of $165.20 and a one 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 cap of $19.09 billion, a PE ratio of 23.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $226.87 and a 200-day moving average of $221.50.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.04). Packaging Co. of America had a return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 9.60%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th were paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PKG shares. StockNews.com downgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. 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 for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Packaging Co. of America has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.00.

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.