Argyle Capital Management Inc. Sells 9,150 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Argyle Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 26.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 24,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 9,150 shares during the quarter. Argyle Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $1,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SON. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the third quarter valued at $34,000. M&R Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 298.3% in the fourth quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 924 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 692 shares in the last quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter valued at $56,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 40.8% in the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,119 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SON has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TheStreet lowered shares of Sonoco Products from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.00.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of SON traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $56.51. 342,685 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 373,729. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.94. Sonoco Products has a 52 week low of $49.98 and a 52 week high of $63.74. The company has a market cap of $5.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.68.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $1.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by ($0.02). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 7.00%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.21 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total transaction of $604,065.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,456 shares in the company, valued at $774,123.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total value of $30,630.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 28,273 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,691.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total transaction of $604,065.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,456 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $774,123.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,076 shares of company stock worth $749,002. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

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.