Quantbot Technologies LP Invests $5.08 Million in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG)

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Packaging Co. of America (NYSE:PKG) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 22,583 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,084,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 3.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,948,546 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $855,212,000 after purchasing an additional 123,050 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 4.5% during 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Packaging Co. of America by 0.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,337,296 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $501,896,000 after purchasing an additional 12,936 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,565,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $352,305,000 after buying an additional 101,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised its holdings in Packaging Co. of America by 3.4% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,076,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $231,846,000 after buying an additional 35,827 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PKG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $215.00 to $280.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Citigroup raised 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. 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Packaging Co. of America from $253.00 to $236.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Packaging Co. of America from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $233.00.

Packaging Co. of America Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of PKG opened at $196.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 2.95 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $217.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.58. Packaging Co. of America has a one year low of $169.00 and a one year high of $250.82. The company has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.02, a PEG ratio of 2.41 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 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Packaging Co. of America will post 10.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Packaging Co. of America Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $1.25 dividend. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Packaging Co. of America’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 55.99%.

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.