Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Has $1.08 Million Stock Position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System decreased its position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $1,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PKG. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 234.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 164 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 150.8% in the 4th quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 163 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 269 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:PKG opened at $212.54 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $226.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.75. Packaging Co. of America has a 52-week low of $165.20 and a 52-week high of $250.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.95. The company has a market cap of $19.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.77.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 9.60%. On average, analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.6 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th were issued a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 20th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio is 55.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PKG. 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. Citigroup upped their price objective on 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. StockNews.com lowered Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paul T. Stecko sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.91, for a total value of $2,571,555.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,175,045.71. This represents a 54.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Joseph Vaughn sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.89, for a total value of $563,247.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,197 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,252,253.33. This trade represents a 20.01 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.