Jump Financial LLC Takes $451,000 Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,230 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $451,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $543,638,000 after buying an additional 120,843 shares during the period. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter worth $78,203,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of 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 during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,345,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $65,706,000 after buying an additional 43,238 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter worth $60,984,000. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SON. Bank of America increased their target price on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut Sonoco Products from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, 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 objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $56.43.

Insider Activity at Sonoco Products

In other news, Director John R. Haley acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at $867,772.08. This represents a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,237,026.50. The trade was a 4.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 12.0 %

Shares of NYSE:SON traded down $5.62 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,355,494 shares, compared to its average volume of 764,222. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 0.79. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $39.46 and a fifty-two week high of $61.73. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $45.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.36. The company has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of 24.93, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. The company's revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.15%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is currently 128.48%.

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.