Ancora Advisors LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 253.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,176 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 20,926 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC's holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $1,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SON. Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 111.3% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 970 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 511 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Sonoco Products in the third quarter worth about $71,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 311.8% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,713 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 1,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter worth approximately $84,000. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John R. Haley acquired 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at $867,772.08. The trade was a 19.28 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares in the company, valued at $22,237,026.50. This represents a 4.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 50,721 shares of company stock worth $2,206,646 in the last 90 days. 0.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SON opened at $44.66 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.44 and a 200 day moving average of $48.13. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The company has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.68. Sonoco Products has a 52 week low of $39.46 and a 52 week high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.03). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This is a boost from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 137.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on SON. Citigroup reduced their target price on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America increased their price objective on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.43.

Sonoco Products 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SON? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.