Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Buys 8,511 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 58.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,106 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,511 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $1,336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SON. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,969,740 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $596,205,000 after purchasing an additional 64,047 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,300,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $128,506,000 after purchasing an additional 109,983 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,654,913 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $92,460,000 after acquiring an additional 38,437 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 30.8% in 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 during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $62,387,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of Sonoco Products stock opened at $50.88 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $56.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.83. Sonoco Products has a 52-week low of $48.22 and a 52-week high of $61.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.31.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.07. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 5.86% and a return on equity of 20.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.08 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.09%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is currently 52.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SON has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Citigroup decreased their price target on Sonoco Products from $64.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $58.50.

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.