Franklin Resources Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) by 19.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 105,117 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 25,511 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Packaging Co. of America worth $23,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PKG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $258,928,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $50,175,000. Conning Inc. purchased a new position in Packaging Co. of America in the fourth quarter valued at $32,329,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Packaging Co. of America by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,423,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,571,821,000 after purchasing an additional 133,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,069,949 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $691,138,000 after purchasing an additional 132,836 shares during the period. 89.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $215.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 price target (down previously from $282.00) on shares of Packaging Co. of America in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Down 3.2 %

PKG opened at $183.04 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a current ratio of 2.95. Packaging Co. of America has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $250.82. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $205.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $221.66.

Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.60% and a return on equity of 19.67%. Analysts anticipate that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current year.

Packaging Co. of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $1.25 per share. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s payout ratio is currently 55.99%.

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.