Sonoco Products Company $SON Shares Acquired by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Key Points

• Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 60.7%, acquiring an additional 76,437 shares in the first quarter, resulting in a total of 202,409 shares owned, valued at approximately $9.56 million.
• Sonoco Products has seen a positive shift in analyst ratings, with six analysts issuing a Buy rating and an average target price of $57.63, reflecting improved investor confidence.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53 per share, equating to an annual yield of 4.6%, further indicating its financial strength amid fluctuating earnings.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 60.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 202,409 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 76,437 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. owned 0.21% of Sonoco Products worth $9,562,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of SON. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 739.7% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,152,506 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $54,444,000 after acquiring an additional 1,015,250 shares in the last quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 368.6% during the 4th quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 666,430 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,555,000 after acquiring an additional 524,198 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 14.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,591,263 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $169,646,000 after acquiring an additional 450,792 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 699.3% during the 1st quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. now owns 497,814 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $23,517,000 after acquiring an additional 435,529 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,533,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SON has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sonoco Products from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sonoco Products presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.63.

Sonoco Products Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of SON stock traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $47.79. The company had a trading volume of 847,814 shares, compared to its average volume of 878,893. The company's fifty day moving average is $46.36 and its 200 day moving average is $45.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.72. Sonoco Products Company has a fifty-two week low of $39.46 and a fifty-two week high of $56.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 8.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.70.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.46% and a net margin of 8.35%.Sonoco Products's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.28 earnings per share. Sonoco Products has set its FY 2025 guidance at 6.000-6.2 EPS. Research analysts expect that Sonoco Products Company will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio is 37.99%.

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.