Nomura Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 13,038 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $637,000.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,128,725 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $543,638,000 after acquiring an additional 120,843 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,140,471 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $153,411,000 after acquiring an additional 136,965 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,594,601 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $126,746,000 after acquiring an additional 10,661 shares in the last quarter. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter valued at $78,203,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,358,002 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $66,338,000 after acquiring an additional 155,893 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several analysts have recently issued reports on SON shares. 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded 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 research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $57.43.
Read Our Latest Research Report on SON
Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products
In related news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. purchased 5,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 29,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,191,643.60. The trade was a 22.75% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $41.17 per share, for a total transaction of $823,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 502,365 shares in the company, valued at $20,682,367.05. This trade represents a 4.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 50,721 shares of company stock worth $2,206,646. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.
Sonoco Products Stock Performance
Shares of SON traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $45.69. 705,140 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 779,220. The business's 50-day moving average price is $45.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.48. 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 has a twelve month low of $39.46 and a twelve month high of $61.73. The company has a market capitalization of $4.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.69, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.68.
Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.03). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Sonoco Products Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.64%. This is a boost from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is 137.66%.
Sonoco Products Profile
(
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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