M&T Bank Corp Has $1.85 Million Stake in Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON)

M&T Bank Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 15.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,237 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,425 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $1,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 4.1% during the first quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,669 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 7,189 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 559 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 36.2% in the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 4,116 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 1,095 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 105,872 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,001,000 after acquiring an additional 4,502 shares during the period. Finally, World Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products during the first quarter worth approximately $1,347,000. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. 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 objective on the stock. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $48.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sonoco Products news, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $41.17 per share, for a total transaction of $823,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 502,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,682,367.05. The trade was a 4.15% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John R. Haley bought 2,246 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $44.57 per share, with a total value of $100,104.22. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 20,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $927,234.28. The trade was a 12.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 27,721 shares of company stock worth $1,144,366 in the last ninety days. 0.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE SON opened at $46.25 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.68. The stock's fifty day moving average is $45.22 and its 200 day moving average is $46.07. Sonoco Products Company has a 52 week low of $39.46 and a 52 week high of $56.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.02, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last released its 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 net margin of 2.40% and a return on equity of 21.78%. The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Sonoco Products's quarterly revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sonoco Products Company will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.58%. This is a boost from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is 137.66%.

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.

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