Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Raises Stock Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 29.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 130,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,543 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $7,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SON. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 751.5% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,967 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,736 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter worth about $626,000. AIA Group Ltd acquired a new position in Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $312,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 20,630 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 38,461 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,148,000 after acquiring an additional 3,154 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Sonoco Products stock opened at $56.14 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.76. Sonoco Products has a one year low of $49.98 and a one year high of $63.74. The company has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.89.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.27 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 5.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. This is a boost from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is presently 42.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SON. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. 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 note on Tuesday, February 20th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Sonoco Products from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonoco Products presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Insider Activity at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, 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 value of $604,065.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,123.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 13,456 shares in the company, valued at approximately $774,123.68. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 transaction of $30,630.48. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 28,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 valued at $749,002 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

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.