AQR Capital Management LLC Acquires 292,772 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 49.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 886,332 shares of the industrial products company's stock after buying an additional 292,772 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.90% of Sonoco Products worth $43,262,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,516 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 7,073 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in Sonoco Products by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,652 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 247 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in Sonoco Products by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 43,056 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,103,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,701 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $230,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on SON. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Sonoco Products from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sonoco Products in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $56.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. acquired 5,475 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $40.34 per share, for a total transaction of $220,861.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,540 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,191,643.60. The trade was a 22.75 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. The trade was a 4.33 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 50,721 shares of company stock valued at $2,206,646. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of SON traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $44.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 322,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 771,161. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Sonoco Products has a one year low of $39.46 and a one year high of $61.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.68. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $45.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.05.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.12 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.53 dividend. 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 4.79%. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 137.66%.

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.