BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Takes Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 12,700 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $644,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SON. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter worth $62,387,000. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 105.0% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 724,637 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $40,485,000 after purchasing an additional 371,096 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,275,530 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $71,264,000 after acquiring an additional 300,697 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,507,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 131,012 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Sonoco Products Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE SON traded down $1.29 on Wednesday, reaching $54.31. 611,755 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 722,927. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $54.28 and a fifty-two week high of $56.58. The company has a 50 day moving average of $51.42 and a 200 day moving average of $55.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.68.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 9th. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.53%.

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.