Valley Wealth Managers Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in 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. boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 699.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 497,814 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 435,529 shares during the quarter. Sonoco Products accounts for approximately 1.8% of Valley Wealth Managers Inc.'s portfolio, 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 also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 859,810 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $42,002,000 after purchasing an additional 166,552 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter valued at $15,533,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the 1st quarter worth $820,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 226,179 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,685,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 528,494 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,817,000 after acquiring an additional 20,075 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

NYSE:SON opened at $48.34 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $45.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. Sonoco Products Company has a twelve month low of $39.46 and a twelve month high of $56.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.66, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SON has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on Sonoco Products from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised Sonoco Products from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on Sonoco Products from $53.00 to $58.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $57.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John R. Haley acquired 2,246 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $44.57 per share, with a total value of $100,104.22. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 20,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $927,234.28. This represents a 12.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. bought 5,475 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $40.34 per share, with a total value of $220,861.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 29,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 have bought 27,721 shares of company stock worth $1,144,366 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

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.

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