BNP Paribas Financial Markets Boosts Stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 410.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 77,944 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 62,683 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned 0.08% of Sonoco Products worth $4,355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter valued at $34,000. M&R Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 298.3% during the 4th quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 924 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Highlander Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter worth about $65,000. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on SON. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on 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 note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.33.

Sonoco Products Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of SON stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $61.45. 762,888 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 458,341. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.68. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $49.98 and a 12-month high of $63.74. The company's 50-day moving average price is $57.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.71.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.79% and a net margin of 5.86%. Sonoco Products's quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is a positive change 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 3.38%. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.53%.

Insider Activity

In other Sonoco Products news, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.06, for a total transaction of $114,306.34. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $672,047.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Adam Wood sold 537 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 28,273 shares in the company, valued at $1,612,691.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Russell K. Grissett sold 2,039 shares of the business'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 transaction of $114,306.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,988 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $672,047.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 13,076 shares of company stock valued at $749,002. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

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.