Tudor Investment Corp ET AL Sells 29,103 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lessened its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 41.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,474 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 29,103 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL's holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $1,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SON. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 94,885 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,184,000 after acquiring an additional 21,799 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products in the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 36.0% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 25,941 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 6,869 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 110.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 73,501 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,018,000 after buying an additional 38,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,158 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 1.5 %

SON stock traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $44.38. The company had a trading volume of 541,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 776,406. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Sonoco Products has a 52 week low of $39.46 and a 52 week high of $61.73. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.90, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.68. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $45.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $47.89.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a positive change 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 4.78%. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio is presently 137.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sonoco Products news, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,237,026.50. The trade was a 4.33 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John R. Haley acquired 2,246 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $44.57 per share, for a total transaction of $100,104.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $927,234.28. This trade represents a 12.10 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders acquired 50,721 shares of company stock worth $2,206,646. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SON. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sonoco Products in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Raymond James dropped their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.43.

About Sonoco Products

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.