Evercore Wealth Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Evercore Wealth Management LLC reduced its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 22.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,446 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 11,745 shares during the quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $2,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SON. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $28,547,000 after acquiring an additional 126,867 shares during the period. Quilter Plc lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 299,178 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $14,615,000 after purchasing an additional 8,895 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 66,754 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,610,000 after buying an additional 5,505 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter worth about $15,533,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 528,494 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,817,000 after buying an additional 20,075 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In related news, CEO R. Howard Coker acquired 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were 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 directly owns 482,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. The trade was a 4.33 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $867,772.08. The trade was a 19.28 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James decreased their price target on Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup cut their price target on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.43.

Sonoco Products Trading Up 0.7 %

Sonoco Products stock opened at $45.32 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $45.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.64. 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 $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64. 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 (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Equities research analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio is currently 128.48%.

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.

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