Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Sold by Impax Asset Management Group plc

Impax Asset Management Group plc trimmed its stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 553,559 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 156,068 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc owned 0.56% of Sonoco Products worth $30,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products in the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Sonoco Products by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 83,067 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,805,000 after buying an additional 5,123 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 26.2% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 17,152 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $992,000 after buying an additional 3,559 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 11.8% in the first quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,167 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $646,000 after acquiring an additional 1,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 15.1% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 12,905 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $746,000 after acquiring an additional 1,692 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Friday, July 19th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Sonoco Products from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonoco Products presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.00.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

NYSE SON traded down $0.31 on Tuesday, reaching $50.25. 459,770 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 616,095. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $48.22 and a fifty-two week high of $61.73. 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 17.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $53.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.51.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 4.38%. The company's revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 5.08 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 paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. 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.