Royal Bank of Canada Sells 19,418 Shares of Sonoco Products Company $SON

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in Sonoco Products by 1.5%, holding approximately 1.31% of the company with a value of $61.24 million at the end of the last quarter.
• Sonoco Products has experienced recent upgrades from analysts, with price targets now set between $55.00 and $58.00, reflecting a generally positive outlook with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53, payable on September 10th, representing an annualized yield of 4.7%.

Royal Bank of Canada decreased its position in shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 1.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,296,372 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 19,418 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 1.31% of Sonoco Products worth $61,241,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 859,810 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $42,002,000 after purchasing an additional 166,552 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 1st quarter worth $820,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 226,179 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,685,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 1st quarter worth $232,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 1st quarter worth $1,347,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on SON shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $57.63.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of Sonoco Products stock traded up $0.71 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $46.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,251,773 shares, compared to its average volume of 826,737. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $46.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.64. Sonoco Products Company has a one year low of $39.46 and a one year high of $56.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.70.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.07). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.46% and a net margin of 8.35%.The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.28 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. Sonoco Products has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.000-6.2 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Sonoco Products Company will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.99%.

About Sonoco Products

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.