Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 58,376 Shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON)

Bank of Nova Scotia trimmed its holdings in Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) by 57.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 43,436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 58,376 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $2,052,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,140,471 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $153,411,000 after acquiring an additional 136,965 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,594,601 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $126,746,000 after purchasing an additional 10,661 shares during the period. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new position in Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter worth $78,203,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,358,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,338,000 after purchasing an additional 155,893 shares during the period. Finally, Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 53.4% in the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,272,121 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $62,143,000 after purchasing an additional 442,892 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on SON shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sonoco Products in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial raised their target price on Sonoco Products from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Sonoco Products from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Raymond James Financial raised their target price on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sonoco Products has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $57.63.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Sonoco Products stock opened at $45.38 on Thursday. Sonoco Products Company has a 52-week low of $39.46 and a 52-week high of $56.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.13, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.69. 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 fifty day moving average price of $45.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.90.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.91 billion for 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products Company will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is 37.99%.

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.