Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 6,712 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 119.3% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,373 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $556,000 after buying an additional 6,188 shares during the last quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 307,680 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $15,030,000 after acquiring an additional 1,709 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 55,384 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $2,706,000 after purchasing an additional 4,607 shares during the period. Natixis boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 120,995.0% during the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 24,219 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,183,000 after acquiring an additional 24,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 101.5% in the fourth quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 26,154 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,278,000 after purchasing an additional 13,175 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SON traded up $0.32 during trading on Monday, reaching $46.51. The company had a trading volume of 126,577 shares, compared to its average volume of 749,633. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a PE ratio of 28.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $39.46 and a twelve month high of $61.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.48.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.01). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is currently 128.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James reduced 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 report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given 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.

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.