Arjuna Capital Lowers Stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Arjuna Capital reduced its position in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,735 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 20,151 shares during the quarter. Arjuna Capital’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $1,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SON. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,645,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $134,192,000 after purchasing an additional 64,915 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,631,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $133,465,000 after purchasing an additional 261,062 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,195,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $111,338,000 after purchasing an additional 50,577 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 13,464.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,980,297 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,698 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,490,580 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $75,602,000 after purchasing an additional 126,643 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Sonoco Products stock traded down $0.49 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $50.28. The stock had a trading volume of 60,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 614,502. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $53.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.27. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $48.22 and a 12-month high of $61.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The firm has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.69.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 19.92%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on SON. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $52.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.00.

About Sonoco Products

Sonoco Products Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, manufactures, and sells various engineered and sustainable packaging products in North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company operates Consumer Packaging and Industrial Paper Packaging segments. The Consumer Packaging segment offers round and shaped rigid paper, steel, and plastic containers; metal and peelable membrane ends, closures, and components; thermoformed plastic trays and enclosures; and high-barrier flexible packaging products.