Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $12.44 Million Stock Holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 227,648 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 99,526 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Sonoco Products worth $12,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. D.B. Root & Company LLC increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 16.9% in the third quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 14,581 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 2,103 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the third quarter valued at $224,000. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Centennial Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 5,679 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 18,333 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,002,000 after buying an additional 507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter valued at about $24,994,000. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Sonoco Products from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $58.00.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SON traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $50.07. The company's stock had a trading volume of 503,827 shares, compared to its average volume of 662,768. The company has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.69. Sonoco Products has a one year low of $48.22 and a one year 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 50 day moving average price of $53.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.14.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 19.92%. Sonoco Products's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.