Earnest Partners LLC Purchases 10,661 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,594,601 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,661 shares during the quarter. Earnest Partners LLC owned approximately 2.64% of Sonoco Products worth $126,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter worth about $71,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter worth about $84,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 311.8% in 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, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 33.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,158 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,237,026.50. This represents a 4.33 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought 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 owns 18,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $867,772.08. This represents a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SON traded up $1.38 on Friday, reaching $44.64. 484,888 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 767,404. The company's 50 day moving average is $45.49 and its 200-day moving average is $48.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a PE ratio of 27.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $39.46 and a fifty-two week high of $61.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

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

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.75%. This is an increase from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio is currently 128.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on SON. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Sonoco Products from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Sonoco Products in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James lowered their target price on Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.43.

About Sonoco Products

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.