Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 75.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,103 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 45,584 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $833,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Holocene Advisors LP grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 163.5% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 93,819 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,125,000 after purchasing an additional 58,214 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 1,736.5% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 148,940 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,137,000 after buying an additional 140,830 shares during the period. Walleye Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 50.1% in the 3rd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 9,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 3,237 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 129.1% during the third quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 28,294 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,546,000 after buying an additional 15,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 1.0% in the third quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 230,205 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $12,576,000 after acquiring an additional 2,177 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SON opened at $49.06 on Thursday. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $48.22 and a 12 month high of $61.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.67. 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 fifty day moving average price is $51.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.83.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 4.38%. The business’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date was 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.