D.B. Root & Company LLC Reduces Stock Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

D.B. Root & Company LLC cut its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. D.B. Root & Company LLC’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $681,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Sonoco Products during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Burkett Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 12,183.3% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 737 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 154.6% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 881 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of Sonoco Products stock traded down $0.92 during trading on Friday, hitting $50.72. 1,101,829 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 912,196. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.29. The firm has a market cap of $4.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.72. Sonoco Products has a 52-week low of $49.98 and a 52-week high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.07. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 20.79%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 5.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is 52.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on SON. Citigroup decreased their target price on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.33.

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.