Dean Investment Associates LLC lowered its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 15.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,449 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,315 shares during the period. Dean Investment Associates LLC's holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $1,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 21,799 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 2.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,863,756 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $101,842,000 after purchasing an additional 42,701 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,482 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 3,341 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Sonoco Products during the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 36.0% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 25,941 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 6,869 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
SON has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. StockNews.com raised Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.43.
Read Our Latest Research Report on SON
Insider Activity
In other Sonoco Products news, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,237,026.50. This represents a 4.33 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John R. Haley acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at $867,772.08. This 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 owned by corporate insiders.
Sonoco Products Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:SON traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $45.18. The stock had a trading volume of 165,075 shares, compared to its average volume of 745,641. 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 50 day moving average price of $45.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.66. Sonoco Products has a 1 year low of $39.46 and a 1 year high of $61.73. The company has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 27.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64.
Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Sonoco Products Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This is an increase from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is presently 128.48%.
About Sonoco Products
(
Free Report)
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.
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