KBC Group NV Decreases Stock Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

KBC Group NV lowered its stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 462 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $144,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 18.6% in the third quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 305,971 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $16,715,000 after acquiring an additional 47,928 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the third quarter valued at approximately $970,000. Access Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 80.3% in the 3rd quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 183,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,031,000 after buying an additional 81,780 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 12.1% during the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 37,111 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,027,000 after buying an additional 3,992 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on 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 equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonoco Products has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.00.

Sonoco Products Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE SON opened at $50.15 on Friday. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $48.22 and a twelve month high of $61.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.99. The firm has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.69.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. Sonoco Products’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.1 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.15%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.