Two Sigma Investments LP Reduces Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Two Sigma Investments LP lessened its stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 74.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,062 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 108,356 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP's holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $1,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 35,228 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,721,000 after purchasing an additional 9,287 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC increased its position in Sonoco Products by 650.7% during the 4th quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 1,096 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 950 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 632,479 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,897,000 after buying an additional 5,995 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 312.8% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 89,495 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,372,000 after buying an additional 67,817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter worth $637,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SON has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Sonoco Products from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sonoco Products in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.25.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 1.7%

SON stock traded down $0.76 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.81. The company had a trading volume of 603,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 779,202. The business has a 50-day moving average of $44.83 and a 200-day moving average of $47.21. Sonoco Products has a one year low of $39.46 and a one year high of $61.57. The stock has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.16, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last announced 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 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.73%. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is currently 137.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO R. Howard Coker acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.10 per share, for a total transaction of $922,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,237,026.50. The trade was a 4.33% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John R. Haley acquired 2,246 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $44.57 per share, with a total value of $100,104.22. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,804 shares in the company, 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. Insiders purchased 47,721 shares of company stock worth $2,066,366 in the last quarter. 0.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sonoco Products Company 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.