Northern Trust Corp Buys 166,552 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 24.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 859,810 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 166,552 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.88% of Sonoco Products worth $42,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Management Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 27.7% in the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 584,390 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,547,000 after purchasing an additional 126,867 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc raised its position in Sonoco Products by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 299,178 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $14,615,000 after acquiring an additional 8,895 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its position in Sonoco Products by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 66,754 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,610,000 after acquiring an additional 5,505 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter worth about $15,533,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Sonoco Products by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 528,494 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $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 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SON traded up $0.01 on Wednesday, reaching $45.08. 140,413 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 777,229. The company's 50 day moving average is $45.17 and its 200-day moving average is $47.78. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $39.46 and a fifty-two week high of $61.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.32, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.68.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The company's revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.70%. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 137.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John R. Haley purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price 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 approximately $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. This trade represents a 4.33% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired a total of 50,721 shares of company stock worth $2,206,646 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on SON shares. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.43.

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.