Argyle Capital Management LLC Buys 2,800 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Argyle Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,358 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,800 shares during the quarter. Argyle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $1,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SON. Private Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter worth $24,994,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 63.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,129,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,181,000 after buying an additional 437,128 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 50.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,029,166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,223,000 after acquiring an additional 344,658 shares during the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter valued at $11,672,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 70.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 559,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,571,000 after acquiring an additional 230,709 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 0.7 %

Sonoco Products stock opened at $46.57 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.22, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.67. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $50.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 1.91. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $44.35 and a fifty-two week high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.01). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.47%. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is 126.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SON has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sonoco Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total value of $191,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,316.75. This represents a 19.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,772.08. This represents a 19.28 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

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.