Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) Shares Bought by Victory Capital Management Inc.

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 shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 15.8% in the 1st quarter, according to 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 purchasing an additional 17,871 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Sonoco Products worth $6,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,128,725 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $543,638,000 after purchasing an additional 120,843 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 4.6% during 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 buying an additional 136,965 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,594,601 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $126,746,000 after buying an additional 10,661 shares during the period. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC bought a new position in Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter worth approximately $78,203,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,358,002 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $66,338,000 after buying an additional 155,893 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Sonoco Products

In other news, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $41.17 per share, for a total transaction of $823,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 502,365 shares in the company, valued at $20,682,367.05. This represents a 4.15% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. bought 5,475 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $40.34 per share, for a total transaction of $220,861.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 27,721 shares of company stock worth $1,144,366 in the last quarter. 0.74% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE SON opened at $48.34 on Friday. Sonoco Products Company has a 12 month low of $39.46 and a 12 month high of $56.77. The company has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.66, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.68. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $45.55 and its 200 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 0.51.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The industrial products company reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 8.35% and a return on equity of 20.46%. Sonoco Products's quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Sonoco Products Company will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.39%. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SON has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Sonoco Products from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $57.63.

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.

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