Nomura Holdings Inc. Invests $637,000 in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 13,038 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $637,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SON. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 94,885 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,184,000 after buying an additional 21,799 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its position in Sonoco Products by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 14,084 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $688,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $298,000. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Sonoco Products by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,198 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $352,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter worth $84,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SON has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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 raised Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Sonoco Products from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sonoco Products in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.43.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

SON traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $45.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 705,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 780,448. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $47.43. The stock has a market cap of $4.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.68. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $39.46 and a twelve month high of $61.73.

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 company 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.12 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.64%. This is an increase from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 137.66%.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. acquired 5,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $40.34 per share, for a total transaction of $220,861.50. Following the purchase, the director now owns 29,540 shares in the company, valued at $1,191,643.60. This represents a 22.75% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John R. Haley bought 2,246 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $44.57 per share, for a total transaction of $100,104.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,804 shares in the company, valued at $927,234.28. This represents a 12.10% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have bought 50,721 shares of company stock valued at $2,206,646. 0.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.