Synovus Financial Corp Lowers Stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Synovus Financial Corp reduced its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 4.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,175 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 546 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.5% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,645,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $134,192,000 after purchasing an additional 64,915 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 11.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,631,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $133,465,000 after acquiring an additional 261,062 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.4% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,195,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $111,338,000 after acquiring an additional 50,577 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 13,464.6% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,980,297 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $100,441,000 after acquiring an additional 1,965,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,863,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,842,000 after acquiring an additional 42,701 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial assumed 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, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $52.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $59.00.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of Sonoco Products stock opened at $50.48 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.85. Sonoco Products has a one year low of $48.22 and a one year high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is 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.