Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Decreases Stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lessened its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 30,526 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 860 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $1,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,863,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $101,842,000 after purchasing an additional 42,701 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 94,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,184,000 after buying an additional 21,799 shares during the period. iSAM Funds UK Ltd acquired a new position in Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,243,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 56.6% in the 3rd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $375,000 after acquiring an additional 2,481 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Sonoco Products by 312.1% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 185,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,126,000 after acquiring an additional 140,370 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Sonoco Products stock opened at $50.48 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.67. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $48.22 and a 12 month high of $61.73. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $51.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $52.85. 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 (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. Sonoco Products’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.