New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Position in Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Free Report) by 47.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,062 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 32,000 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund's holdings in Packaging Corporation of America were worth $7,141,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PKG. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 1,033.3% in the 4th quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 204 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. boosted its position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 54.8% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 240 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Corporation of America in the 4th quarter worth $64,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Packaging Corporation of America by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 387 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Packaging Corporation of America Stock Performance

PKG traded up $1.04 on Wednesday, reaching $206.33. 900,316 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 749,851. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.57 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.82. The company's 50-day moving average price is $195.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $200.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 3.28 and a quick ratio of 2.15. Packaging Corporation of America has a fifty-two week low of $172.72 and a fifty-two week high of $250.82.

Packaging Corporation of America (NYSE:PKG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.04. Packaging Corporation of America had a return on equity of 20.08% and a net margin of 10.09%. The company's revenue was up 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Packaging Corporation of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Corporation of America Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Packaging Corporation of America's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Packaging Corporation of America from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Packaging Corporation of America from $237.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Packaging Corporation of America from $200.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Packaging Corporation of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $245.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Packaging Corporation of America from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, April 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Packaging Corporation of America presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $217.80.

About Packaging Corporation 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.