21,300 Shares in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Purchased by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV bought a new position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 21,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,164,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Curi RMB Capital LLC increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 2.4% during the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 12,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 18.6% during the third quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 305,971 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $16,715,000 after acquiring an additional 47,928 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Sonoco Products during the third quarter worth approximately $970,000. Access Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 80.3% during the third quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 183,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,031,000 after acquiring an additional 81,780 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in Sonoco Products during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.00.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 0.5 %

SON opened at $50.07 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $53.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.14. Sonoco Products has a one year low of $48.22 and a one year high of $61.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.36.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 4.38%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. 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 currently 71.48%.

About Sonoco Products

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.