4,167 Shares in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Acquired by Brandes Investment Partners LP

Brandes Investment Partners LP acquired a new position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,167 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 195,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,609,000 after purchasing an additional 2,371 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 127,190 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,913,000 after acquiring an additional 9,602 shares during the period. D.B. Root & Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter. D.B. Root & Company LLC now owns 10,980 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $597,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 273,900 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,886,000 after buying an additional 3,700 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 2.2% during the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 14,189 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $771,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Sonoco Products

In related news, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total value of $30,630.48. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 28,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,612,691.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total transaction of $114,306.34. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,047.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total value of $30,630.48. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 28,273 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,691.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,076 shares of company stock worth $749,002 in the last three months. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SON has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet downgraded Sonoco Products from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Sonoco Products from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.33.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of SON stock traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $61.15. The company had a trading volume of 88,316 shares, compared to its average volume of 454,531. The company has a market capitalization of $6.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.68. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $49.98 and a twelve month high of $63.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.31. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $57.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.71.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.07. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.79% and a net margin of 5.86%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. Sonoco Products’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. This is a boost from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.53%.

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.