Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Sold by Verity Asset Management Inc.

Verity Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 44.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 3,640 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 2,935 shares during the quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $211,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SON. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 5.3% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,580,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,275,000 after purchasing an additional 131,012 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,300,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $128,506,000 after buying an additional 109,983 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,654,913 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $92,460,000 after acquiring an additional 38,437 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,363,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $78,890,000 after acquiring an additional 88,407 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,387,000. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on SON shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Raymond James assumed coverage on Sonoco Products in a research report on Friday, July 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Sonoco Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Sonoco Products from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.67.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of SON stock traded down $1.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $51.64. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,064,259 shares, compared to its average volume of 755,106. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 13.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.32. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $48.22 and a 12-month high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.02. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 5.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.