Gallacher Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Gallacher Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 79.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 8,207 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,644 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. FMR LLC raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 1,231.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 694,263 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,733,000 after purchasing an additional 642,109 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 20.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,787,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $151,474,000 after acquiring an additional 467,431 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Sonoco Products by 436.0% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 283,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,425,000 after acquiring an additional 230,862 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 974,833 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $52,982,000 after purchasing an additional 142,592 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 94.1% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 290,660 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $15,797,000 after purchasing an additional 140,934 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of Sonoco Products stock traded up $1.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $56.80. The company had a trading volume of 513,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 409,484. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.31. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $49.98 and a fifty-two week high of $63.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $56.91 and its 200-day moving average is $56.04. The company has a market cap of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. 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 3.66%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sonoco Products news, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total transaction of $30,630.48. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 28,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,612,691.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Sonoco Products news, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.04, for a total value of $30,630.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 28,273 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,691.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jeffrey S. Tomaszewski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.53, for a total value of $604,065.00. Following the sale, 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 a total of 13,076 shares of company stock valued at $749,002 over the last 90 days. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.