Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Purchases 8,284 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 41.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,284 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $1,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SON. Earnest Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,580,829 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $149,275,000 after buying an additional 131,012 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $111,338,000 after acquiring an additional 50,577 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 38,437 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,363,937 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $78,890,000 after purchasing an additional 88,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter worth about $62,387,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE SON opened at $55.08 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $52.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.37. Sonoco Products has a 52-week low of $48.22 and a 52-week high of $61.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.68.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.69 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.10% and a net margin of 5.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is 52.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SON. Raymond James started coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com downgraded Sonoco Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonoco Products currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.00.

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.