Bailard Inc. Buys New Shares in Sonoco Products Company $SON

Bailard Inc. bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 24,700 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,064,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,470,449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $194,733,000 after purchasing an additional 13,161 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Sonoco Products by 70.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,827,569 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $122,914,000 after buying an additional 1,164,849 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,804,621 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $122,169,000 after buying an additional 162,262 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 1.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,398,881 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $60,935,000 after acquiring an additional 18,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products in the second quarter valued at approximately $53,618,000. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, CFO Paul Joachimczyk acquired 20,500 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.50 per share, for a total transaction of $809,750.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 20,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $809,750. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Haley bought 2,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $39.87 per share, with a total value of $99,914.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 23,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $929,369.70. The trade was a 12.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 1.1%

SON opened at $48.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50-day moving average is $43.70 and its 200 day moving average is $44.13. Sonoco Products Company has a fifty-two week low of $38.65 and a fifty-two week high of $50.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.74, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.55.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.01. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 8.82% and a return on equity of 20.49%. The business had revenue of $2.13 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.49 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 57.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Sonoco Products Company will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Sonoco Products from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $47.00 price objective (down previously from $52.00) on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Bank of America raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $60.00 in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $44.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonoco Products has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.86.

Sonoco Products Profile

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE: SON) is a global provider of diversified packaging solutions, serving a wide range of consumer, industrial and retail markets. The company offers a broad portfolio that includes rigid paper and plastic containers, flexible packaging, industrial core and tube products, thermoformed plastics, retail point-of-purchase displays, and packaging supply chain services. Through its solutions, Sonoco helps customers in food and beverage, personal care, chemicals, healthcare, home and garden, and electronics industries address their packaging needs, improve product shelf appeal, and optimize logistics efficiency.

With operations in more than 30 countries across North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, Sonoco leverages a global network of manufacturing facilities, recycling centers and distribution channels to meet the demands of multinational and regional customers.