Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Purchases 435,529 Shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON)

Key Points

• Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 699.3% in Q1, now owning 497,814 shares, which makes up about 1.8% of its portfolio.
• Sonoco Products announced a quarterly dividend of $0.53, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.39% and a payout ratio of 37.99%.
• Analysts rate Sonoco Products with an average price target of $57.63, with several upgrades indicating positive market sentiment towards the stock.

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 699.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 497,814 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 435,529 shares during the quarter. Sonoco Products makes up approximately 1.8% of Valley Wealth Managers Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. owned 0.50% of Sonoco Products worth $23,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sonoco Products news, Director John R. Haley purchased 2,246 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 20,804 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $927,234.28. This trade represents a 12.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available 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 shares were acquired at an average cost of $41.17 per share, with a total value of $823,400.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 502,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,682,367.05. This represents a 4.15% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

NYSE:SON traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.46. 356,319 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 850,298. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $45.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.99. Sonoco Products Company has a 12 month low of $39.46 and a 12 month high of $56.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

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

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th will be issued 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 4.56%. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is presently 37.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SON. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Sonoco Products in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Sonoco Products from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Sonoco Products from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen raised Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three research 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 stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.