Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Sells 12,413 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp decreased its position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 14.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,317 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 12,413 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp owned 0.07% of Sonoco Products worth $3,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 5.3% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,580,829 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $149,275,000 after acquiring an additional 131,012 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,300,033 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $128,506,000 after acquiring an additional 109,983 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.4% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,195,155 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $111,338,000 after acquiring an additional 50,577 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,654,913 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $92,460,000 after acquiring an additional 38,437 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 6.9% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,363,937 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $78,890,000 after acquiring an additional 88,407 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SON traded up $0.81 during trading on Friday, reaching $55.07. 486,333 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 688,820. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $52.76 and a 12 month high of $55.57. The firm has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $52.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.02. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.53%.

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.