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

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky cut its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 2.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SON. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Sonoco Products in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Sonoco Products in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 821.1% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 1,675 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products during the third quarter worth $111,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of SON opened at $50.48 on Wednesday. Sonoco Products has a 1 year low of $48.22 and a 1 year high of $61.73. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.85. The company has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.67. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Truist Financial started coverage on Sonoco Products in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $63.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Sonoco Products currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $59.00.

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.