Ameriprise Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 16.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 100,213 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 19,397 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.10% of Sonoco Products worth $4,895,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its position in Sonoco Products by 253.6% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 29,176 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,425,000 after acquiring an additional 20,926 shares during the period. AXA S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter valued at about $10,108,000. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 15,972 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $780,000 after purchasing an additional 4,297 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 9,419 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $601,000. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Sonoco Products from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sonoco Products in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sonoco Products currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.43.
Read Our Latest Research Report on SON
Sonoco Products Price Performance
Shares of NYSE SON traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $46.66. The company's stock had a trading volume of 534,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 779,462. Sonoco Products has a one year low of $39.46 and a one year high of $61.73. The company has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $45.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $47.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.
Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.
Sonoco Products Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.54%. This is a boost from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is presently 137.66%.
Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products
In other news, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,772.08. The trade was a 19.28% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. purchased 5,475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $40.34 per share, for a total transaction of $220,861.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 29,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,191,643.60. This trade represents a 22.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 50,721 shares of company stock valued at $2,206,646 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.
About Sonoco Products
(
Free Report)
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.
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