Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Has $557,000 Stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its stake in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 8.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,936 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 257 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Packaging Co. of America were worth $557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PKG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the 4th quarter worth about $163,314,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 175.3% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 438,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $71,401,000 after buying an additional 279,059 shares during the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 1,133.4% during the 4th quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 250,752 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,850,000 after buying an additional 230,422 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Packaging Co. of America by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 783,619 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $127,659,000 after acquiring an additional 189,401 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America by 20.1% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 968,816 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $157,836,000 after acquiring an additional 162,420 shares during the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PKG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup raised their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $181.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 8th. BNP Paribas cut Packaging Co. of America from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $182.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $197.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $194.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $190.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Karen E. Gowland acquired 300 shares of Packaging Co. of America stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $182.06 per share, with a total value of $54,618.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $166,766.96. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Packaging Co. of America Trading Up 2.5 %

NYSE PKG traded up $4.76 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $199.00. 745,432 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 592,215. Packaging Co. of America has a 1-year low of $143.82 and a 1-year high of $199.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.46, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $184.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $179.52. The firm has a market cap of $17.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.88, a PEG ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 0.77.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.06. Packaging Co. of America had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 18.39%. The business had revenue of $2.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.31 earnings per share. Packaging Co. of America’s revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Packaging Co. of America will post 8.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is 62.50%.

About Packaging Co. of America

Packaging Corporation of America manufactures and sells containerboard and corrugated packaging products in the United States. The company operates through three segments: Packaging, Paper, and Corporate and Other. The Packaging segment offers various containerboard and corrugated packaging products, such as conventional shipping containers used to protect and transport manufactured goods; multi-color boxes and displays that help to merchandise the packaged product in retail locations; and honeycomb protective packaging products, as well as packaging for meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, processed food, beverages, and other industrial and consumer products.