Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Price Target Lowered to $56.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) had its price target cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $60.00 to $56.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.13.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 2.3%

NYSE SON opened at $50.62 on Friday. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $38.65 and a fifty-two week high of $58.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $45.92. The stock has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.51.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 13.34%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 29.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ernest D. Haynes III sold 1,581 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.39, for a total value of $89,152.59. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,377 shares in the company, valued at $528,769.03. The trade was a 14.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sonoco Products

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 44.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 49,093 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,319,000 after purchasing an additional 15,079 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 80.8% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 206,493 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,755,000 after buying an additional 92,286 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Sonoco Products by 14.1% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 11,058 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $522,000 after buying an additional 1,364 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 87.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 545,179 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $25,754,000 after buying an additional 255,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 37,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,644,000 after buying an additional 2,349 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

About Sonoco Products

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE: SON) is a global provider of diversified packaging solutions, serving a wide range of consumer, industrial and retail markets. The company offers a broad portfolio that includes rigid paper and plastic containers, flexible packaging, industrial core and tube products, thermoformed plastics, retail point-of-purchase displays, and packaging supply chain services. Through its solutions, Sonoco helps customers in food and beverage, personal care, chemicals, healthcare, home and garden, and electronics industries address their packaging needs, improve product shelf appeal, and optimize logistics efficiency.

With operations in more than 30 countries across North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, Sonoco leverages a global network of manufacturing facilities, recycling centers and distribution channels to meet the demands of multinational and regional customers.