Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Position Reduced by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 30.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 227,648 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 99,526 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Sonoco Products worth $12,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on SON shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut 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 report on Monday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonoco Products currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.00.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 0.5 %

SON opened at $50.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.91. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $48.22 and a fifty-two week high of $61.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $53.16 and a 200-day moving average of $54.16.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders 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 yield of 4.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is 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.