Nordea Investment Management AB Reduces Stock Position in Sonoco Products Company $SON

Nordea Investment Management AB trimmed its stake in shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) by 24.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,061,287 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 652,692 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned about 2.09% of Sonoco Products worth $90,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SON. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 5.3% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 6,006 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.8% in the third quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,742 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 5.3% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 7,043 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Gentry Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,181 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 7,655 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ernest D. Haynes III sold 1,581 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.39, for a total value of $89,152.59. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $528,769.03. The trade was a 14.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sonoco Products Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of SON stock opened at $51.79 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.14, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $51.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $45.96. Sonoco Products Company has a twelve month low of $38.65 and a twelve month high of $58.44.

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

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.05%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Bank of America raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $56.00 to $60.00 in a report on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.13.

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.