Argent Trust Co Has $3.09 Million Position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Argent Trust Co lifted its stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,733 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $3,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 40,025 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,011,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at $1,126,000. F M Investments LLC bought a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth $439,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 3,873 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $872,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at about $271,000. Institutional investors own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of Packaging Co. of America stock opened at $185.79 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $220.24. Packaging Co. of America has a fifty-two week low of $169.00 and a fifty-two week 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 firm has a market cap of $16.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.84.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.47 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%. Sell-side analysts predict 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is 55.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PKG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $236.00 to $209.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (down previously from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Packaging Co. of America presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $228.50.

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.