Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Increases Stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 11.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 73,126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 7,635 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. owned about 0.07% of Sonoco Products worth $3,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Earnest Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.5% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,645,744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $134,192,000 after purchasing an additional 64,915 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 11.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,631,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $133,465,000 after purchasing an additional 261,062 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.4% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,195,155 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $111,338,000 after purchasing an additional 50,577 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 13,464.6% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,980,297 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 9.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,490,580 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $75,602,000 after purchasing an additional 126,643 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on SON. Raymond James began coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. 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. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.00.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Sonoco Products stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Friday, hitting $50.29. The stock had a trading volume of 24,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 614,055. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $53.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.22. The stock has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a PE ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.91. 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 earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 19.92%. The business’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.48%.

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.