79,639 Shares in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Purchased by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 79,639 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,449,000. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.08% of Sonoco Products at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SON. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter worth about $62,387,000. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in Sonoco Products by 105.0% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 724,637 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $40,485,000 after purchasing an additional 371,096 shares in the last quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 28.4% in the 4th quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 1,453 shares during the period. Trillium Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Trillium Asset Management LLC now owns 70,666 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,948,000 after buying an additional 5,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,998,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on SON shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. TheStreet downgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonoco Products has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.33.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In other news, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total transaction of $114,306.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,047.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Sonoco Products news, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total value of $114,306.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,988 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $672,047.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total value of $604,065.00. Following 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,076 shares of company stock worth $749,002. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE SON opened at $61.25 on Thursday. Sonoco Products has a 1-year low of $49.98 and a 1-year high of $63.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $57.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.74. The company has a market capitalization of $6.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.47, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.68.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.07. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 20.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This is an increase from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is currently 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.