Assetmark Inc. Grows Stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 54.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 416 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $94,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PKG. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in Packaging Co. of America by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 225,834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $50,842,000 after buying an additional 27,924 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 4.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 132,836 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 2,084 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 79.0% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $150,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. 89.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PKG opened at $196.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 2.95, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Packaging Co. of America has a 12-month low of $169.00 and a 12-month high of $250.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $222.58.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last released its earnings results 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 return on equity of 19.67% and a net margin of 9.60%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders 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 2.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PKG. Seaport Res Ptn raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Packaging Co. of America from $232.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.