Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON)

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 15.8% during the first quarter, now owning 131,326 shares valued at approximately $6.2 million.
• CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares at $41.17 each, increasing his holdings to 502,365 shares, reflecting a 4.15% boost in ownership.
• Sonoco Products recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.53, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 4.39%.

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 15.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,326 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,871 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.13% of Sonoco Products worth $6,204,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new stake in Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter worth $78,203,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter valued at $60,984,000. Invenomic Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 368.6% during the fourth quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 666,430 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $32,555,000 after buying an additional 524,198 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 53.4% during the fourth quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 1,272,121 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $62,143,000 after purchasing an additional 442,892 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter worth about $15,533,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In related news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. bought 5,475 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $40.34 per share, with a total value of $220,861.50. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 29,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,191,643.60. This represents a 22.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John R. Haley bought 2,246 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $44.57 per share, with a total value of $100,104.22. Following the purchase, the director owned 20,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at $927,234.28. This represents a 12.10% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 27,721 shares of company stock worth $1,144,366. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 0.1%

SON traded up $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $47.74. 203,878 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 847,373. Sonoco Products Company has a fifty-two week low of $39.46 and a fifty-two week high of $56.77. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $45.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.25 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.68.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.37 earnings per share 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 net margin of 8.35% and a return on equity of 20.46%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.28 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sonoco Products Company will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is 37.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SON shares. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Sonoco Products in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised Sonoco Products from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.63.

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.