Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Increases Holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 18,333 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $1,002,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 49.3% in the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 123,974 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,171,000 after purchasing an additional 40,927 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Sonoco Products by 80.8% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 555,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,179,000 after buying an additional 248,236 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,626,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the second quarter worth approximately $2,419,000. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 8.7% in the first quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 140,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,103,000 after buying an additional 11,245 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of SON stock opened at $50.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.17. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $48.22 and a 12-month high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 4.38%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. Sonoco Products’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.15%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on SON shares. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Raymond James assumed coverage on Sonoco Products in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $52.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” 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.