Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Acquires New Stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 13,464.6% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,980,297 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965,698 shares in the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter worth $24,994,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,029,166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,223,000 after purchasing an additional 344,658 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Sonoco Products by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,631,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $133,465,000 after purchasing an additional 261,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 80.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 555,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,179,000 after buying an additional 248,236 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SON opened at $49.42 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.72. The company has a market capitalization of $4.86 billion, a PE ratio of 16.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.67. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $48.22 and a twelve month high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. Sonoco Products’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SON has been the topic of several analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $63.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.00.

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.