Panagora Asset Management Inc. Raises Stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 49.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 85,032 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,951 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Sonoco Products worth $4,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd bought a new position in Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter worth $969,000. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 105.0% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 724,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,485,000 after acquiring an additional 371,096 shares during the period. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 266,036 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,863,000 after acquiring an additional 41,006 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 6.9% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,363,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $78,890,000 after purchasing an additional 88,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invenomic Capital Management LP raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 49.7% during the 4th quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 97,813 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,465,000 after purchasing an additional 32,460 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SON has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sonoco Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 8th. Finally, Raymond James started coverage on Sonoco Products in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.00.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SON traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.57. 1,095,979 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 880,395. The company’s 50 day moving average is $51.26 and its 200 day moving average is $55.52. Sonoco Products has a one year low of $53.00 and a one year high of $56.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.56 billion, a PE ratio of 13.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.02. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 9th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.