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

Arjuna Capital lowered its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 38.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,735 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 20,151 shares during the period. Arjuna Capital’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $1,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 49.3% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 123,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,171,000 after buying an additional 40,927 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 80.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 555,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,179,000 after buying an additional 248,236 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new position in Sonoco Products in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,626,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Sonoco Products in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,419,000. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 140,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,103,000 after buying an additional 11,245 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Friday, July 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised 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 reduced their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $52.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.00.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

NYSE SON traded down $0.49 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $50.28. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 60,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 614,502. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.36. The firm has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.69. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $48.22 and a twelve month high of $61.73. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $53.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.27.

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

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

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

Sonoco Products Company 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.