Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Decreases Holdings in Sonoco Products Company $SON

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System trimmed its holdings in Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) by 18.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,577 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 1,017 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,140,471 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $153,411,000 after buying an additional 136,965 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,594,601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $126,746,000 after purchasing an additional 10,661 shares during the period. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 53.4% in the 4th quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,272,121 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $62,143,000 after purchasing an additional 442,892 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 0.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,053,527 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $49,769,000 after purchasing an additional 8,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 49.3% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 886,332 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,262,000 after purchasing an additional 292,772 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 1.9%

NYSE:SON opened at $46.3250 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $45.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $45.73. The company has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a PE ratio of 8.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.69. Sonoco Products Company has a 1-year low of $39.46 and a 1-year high of $56.77.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 8.35% and a return on equity of 20.46%. Sonoco Products’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.28 EPS. Sonoco Products has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.000-6.2 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Sonoco Products Company will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Sonoco Products from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $57.63.

Sonoco Products Company Profile

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.