AQR Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Sonoco Products Company $SON

AQR Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 26.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 648,201 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 238,131 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.66% of Sonoco Products worth $30,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 508.1% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 900 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 752 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 152.7% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 950 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 152.0% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,071 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in Sonoco Products by 56.5% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,518 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $72,000 after buying an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 474.8% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,299 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 1,899 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Sonoco Products Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Sonoco Products stock traded up $0.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $47.48. 233,187 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 861,918. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $46.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.64. Sonoco Products Company has a 1-year low of $39.46 and a 1-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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.68 billion, a PE ratio of 8.51, 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). The business had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.46% and a net margin of 8.35%.The company's revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. Sonoco Products has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.000-6.2 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sonoco Products Company will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is currently 37.99%.

Sonoco Products Company 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.