Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Acquired by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 49.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 886,332 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 292,772 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.90% of Sonoco Products worth $43,262,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SON. Private Management Group Inc. raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 584,390 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $28,547,000 after buying an additional 126,867 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 299,178 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $14,615,000 after buying an additional 8,895 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 66,754 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $3,610,000 after buying an additional 5,505 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $15,533,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 528,494 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,817,000 after purchasing an additional 20,075 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In other news, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $867,772.08. The trade was a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 502,365 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders bought a total of 50,721 shares of company stock worth $2,206,646 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

Sonoco Products Trading Up 2.2 %

SON stock traded up $0.99 during trading on Thursday, reaching $45.15. The company had a trading volume of 127,177 shares, compared to its average volume of 771,202. Sonoco Products has a 52 week low of $39.46 and a 52 week high of $61.73. The business has a 50 day moving average of $45.29 and a 200 day moving average of $48.03. 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 company has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.36, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.68.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. Sonoco Products's quarterly revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is 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.