Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Sold by MQS Management LLC

MQS Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 28.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,481 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $481,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SON. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.7% in the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 8,862 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV grew its position in Sonoco Products by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,373 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Sonoco Products by 1.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 2.0% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 15,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Impact Partnership Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 7.7% during the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 4,506 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SON shares. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on 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 downgraded shares of Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.00.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SON opened at $50.71 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.25. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $48.22 and a twelve month high of $61.73. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The company has a market capitalization of $4.98 billion, a PE ratio of 17.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.69.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. Sonoco Products’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is currently 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.