Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Lowers Holdings in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,958 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 544 shares during the period. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $2,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PKG. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in 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 last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at $50,175,000. Conning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth $32,329,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 218.1% in 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. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Packaging Co. of America by 4.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 132,836 shares during the period. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PKG opened at $197.30 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $214.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.34. Packaging Co. of America has a 52-week low of $169.00 and a 52-week high of $250.82. The company has a quick ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 2.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

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 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, analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 55.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PKG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (down from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Citigroup lifted 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 report on Monday, January 6th. 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 for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $233.00.

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.