Amundi Acquires 110,810 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Amundi boosted its position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 154.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 182,330 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 110,810 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 0.19% of Sonoco Products worth $8,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 2.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,863,756 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $101,842,000 after purchasing an additional 42,701 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 63.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,129,133 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $55,181,000 after purchasing an additional 437,128 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,107,635 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $54,108,000 after purchasing an additional 9,899 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,044,620 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $51,030,000 after purchasing an additional 15,454 shares during the period. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 584,390 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,547,000 after purchasing an additional 126,867 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In related news, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the purchase, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total transaction of $191,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,065 shares in the company, valued at $770,316.75. This trade represents a 19.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 3.4 %

NYSE:SON traded up $1.54 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $47.17. 799,373 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 679,262. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $47.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.49. 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 fifty-two week low of $44.36 and a fifty-two week high of $61.73. The firm has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.59, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.01). Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup cut their price objective on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America increased their price objective 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, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $58.50.

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.