Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Raises Stock Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lifted its position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 11.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 73,126 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 7,635 shares during the quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc.’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $3,995,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SON. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 13,464.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,980,297 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $100,441,000 after buying an additional 1,965,698 shares during the last quarter. Private Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $24,994,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,631,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $133,465,000 after buying an additional 261,062 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Sonoco Products by 80.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 555,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,179,000 after purchasing an additional 248,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $9,935,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

NYSE SON traded down $0.02 on Friday, hitting $50.29. 24,215 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 614,055. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. Sonoco Products has a 1-year low of $48.22 and a 1-year high of $61.73. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $53.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a PE ratio of 17.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.69.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 19.92%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.72 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 71.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SON has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered 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. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.00.

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.