Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Purchases New Stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,945 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $200,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 2.8% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,541 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 5.7% during the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,345 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 0.7% during the first quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 27,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 78.8% during the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 490 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 5.2% during the first quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,460 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Trading Up 1.5 %

SON stock opened at $55.07 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.68. Sonoco Products has a one year low of $52.76 and a one year high of $55.57. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $52.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.30.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.69 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 20.10%. The business’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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