MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $2.77 Million Holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

MetLife Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 50,777 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 956 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Sonoco Products worth $2,774,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SON. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 6.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 50,313 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,911,000 after purchasing an additional 3,036 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 142.6% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,050 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,793 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 4.5% in the second quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,678 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $643,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products in the second quarter worth $830,000. Finally, D.B. Root & Company LLC grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 6.0% in the second quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 12,478 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $633,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SON has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $52.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $63.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.00.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 0.5 %

SON opened at $51.91 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $52.28 and its 200 day moving average is $53.49. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $48.22 and a fifty-two week high of $61.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.84, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.67.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 19.92%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is currently 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.