Arjuna Capital Lowers Stock Holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Arjuna Capital lessened its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 38.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. 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 filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the first quarter worth approximately $50,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the second quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC bought a new stake in Sonoco Products during the second quarter worth $58,000. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SON. Raymond James began coverage on Sonoco Products in a report on Friday, July 19th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. 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 research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Sonoco Products from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. One 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.00.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

NYSE:SON traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $50.71. The company had a trading volume of 634,751 shares, compared to its average volume of 617,113. Sonoco Products has a 52-week low of $48.22 and a 52-week high of $61.73. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $53.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.27. 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. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 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 firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is presently 71.48%.

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.