Virtu Financial LLC Sells 23,194 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Virtu Financial LLC lessened its position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 83.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,712 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 23,194 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $257,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Sonoco Products in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 821.1% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,879 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 1,675 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter worth about $111,000. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SON. Robert W. Baird lowered 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Sonoco Products in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $63.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sonoco Products has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.00.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

SON opened at $50.48 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $48.22 and a 12-month high of $61.73. The business has a 50 day moving average of $51.84 and a 200-day moving average of $52.85. The stock has a market cap of $4.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.67.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 4.38%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.48%.

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.