Brandes Investment Partners LP Buys 6,259 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 55.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,579 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,259 shares during the quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP's holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $55,181,000 after purchasing an additional 437,128 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Sonoco Products by 50.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,029,166 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $56,223,000 after buying an additional 344,658 shares in the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter valued at $11,672,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 70.1% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 559,596 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $30,571,000 after buying an additional 230,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 1,736.5% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 148,940 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $8,137,000 after acquiring an additional 140,830 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other news, Director John R. Haley acquired 3,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the purchase, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of Sonoco Products 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 16,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,316.75. This 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 insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SON has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

NYSE SON traded up $1.54 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $47.17. 799,373 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 679,262. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $47.31 and a 200-day moving average 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 one year low of $44.36 and a one year high of $61.73. The stock has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 28.59, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

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

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.