Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Buys 29,543 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 29.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 130,509 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,543 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned about 0.13% of Sonoco Products worth $7,292,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,969,740 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $596,205,000 after buying an additional 64,047 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 20.2% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,787,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $151,474,000 after purchasing an additional 467,431 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 6.8% during the third quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,181,648 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $118,573,000 after purchasing an additional 138,181 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Sonoco Products by 3.8% in the third quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,279,667 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $69,550,000 after acquiring an additional 46,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Sonoco Products by 17.1% during the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 974,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,982,000 after buying an additional 142,592 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total value of $114,306.34. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,047.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total value of $114,306.34. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $672,047.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total transaction of $604,065.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,456 shares in the company, valued at $774,123.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,076 shares of company stock valued at $749,002 in the last three months. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TheStreet cut Sonoco Products from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup dropped 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 note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $56.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.00.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 0.4 %

Sonoco Products stock opened at $56.14 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.68. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $49.98 and a twelve month high of $63.74.

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

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This is a boost from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.50%.

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.