Argyle Capital Management Inc. Sells 9,150 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 26.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 24,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,150 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $1,387,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SON. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 1,231.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 694,263 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,733,000 after purchasing an additional 642,109 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 20.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,787,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,474,000 after buying an additional 467,431 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 436.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 283,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,425,000 after buying an additional 230,862 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 17.1% during the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 974,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,982,000 after buying an additional 142,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 94.1% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 290,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,797,000 after buying an additional 140,934 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. TheStreet lowered shares of Sonoco Products from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In other news, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total transaction of $604,065.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $774,123.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total value of $114,306.34. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $672,047.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total transaction of $604,065.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,456 shares in the company, valued at $774,123.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,076 shares of company stock valued at $749,002 over the last three months. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sonoco Products Trading Up 0.6 %

SON stock traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 342,685 shares, compared to its average volume of 373,729. Sonoco Products has a 52 week low of $49.98 and a 52 week high of $63.74. The stock has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a PE ratio of 11.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $56.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.94.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.02). Sonoco Products had a net margin of 7.00% and a return on equity of 22.42%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. Sonoco Products’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.21 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. This is a boost from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.50%.

Sonoco Products 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.