Arjuna Capital Acquires Shares of 52,886 Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Arjuna Capital bought a new stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 52,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,682,000. Arjuna Capital owned 0.05% of Sonoco Products at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SON. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. bought a new stake in Sonoco Products during the 2nd quarter valued at about $644,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 49.0% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 85,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,313,000 after purchasing an additional 27,951 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 12.7% in the second quarter. Argyle Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,579,000 after purchasing an additional 3,500 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Sonoco Products by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 19,765 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,002,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 313.5% in the 2nd quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 101,840 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,165,000 after buying an additional 77,210 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Sonoco Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $52.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on Sonoco Products in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.00.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE SON traded up $1.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $56.62. 1,150,066 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 893,917. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $53.00 and a 12 month high of $56.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $51.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.30, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.68.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.02. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 5.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is 52.53%.

Sonoco Products Profile

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.