Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 11.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 327,174 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 41,632 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.33% of Sonoco Products worth $16,594,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SON. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter valued at about $969,000. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 105.0% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 724,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,485,000 after purchasing an additional 371,096 shares during the period. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 266,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,863,000 after purchasing an additional 41,006 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 6.9% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,363,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $78,890,000 after purchasing an additional 88,407 shares during the period. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 49.7% in the fourth quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 97,813 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,465,000 after purchasing an additional 32,460 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of Sonoco Products stock opened at $54.31 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.68. Sonoco Products has a 1 year low of $54.28 and a 1 year high of $56.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $51.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.02. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.38 EPS. Sonoco Products’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is 52.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on SON shares. Raymond James assumed coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Friday, July 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on Sonoco Products from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 8th. StockNews.com downgraded Sonoco Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.00.

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.