Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Stake Boosted by Cwm LLC

Cwm LLC boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 111.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,404 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,363,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,890,000 after buying an additional 88,407 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Sonoco Products by 49.3% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 123,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,171,000 after acquiring an additional 40,927 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,626,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 80.8% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 555,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,179,000 after purchasing an additional 248,236 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,419,000. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Sonoco Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Friday, July 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.00.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

SON stock opened at $52.96 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.89. The company has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.37, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $48.22 and a fifty-two week high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.02. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.53%.

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.