Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 10,378 Shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 16.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,878 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 10,378 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.06% of Packaging Co. of America worth $11,454,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 1,462.2% in 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 position in Packaging Co. of America during the 4th quarter worth $50,175,000. Conning Inc. acquired a new position in Packaging Co. of America during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,329,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Packaging Co. of America by 218.1% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 207,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $44,739,000 after buying an additional 142,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 valued at $2,571,821,000 after buying an additional 133,575 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of Packaging Co. of America stock opened at $195.40 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.55 billion, a PE ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $210.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.04. 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.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities research analysts predict 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, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PKG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (down previously 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 report on Saturday. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average 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.