Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 9,718 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 13.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 83,219 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,718 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.08% of Sonoco Products worth $4,065,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter worth about $60,984,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 63.2% during 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 buying an additional 437,128 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter worth approximately $15,533,000. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,672,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 312.1% in the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 185,351 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $10,126,000 after acquiring an additional 140,370 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $46.10 per share, for a total transaction of $922,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. This trade represents a 4.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John R. Haley purchased 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $867,772.08. This represents a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SON. Truist Financial lowered their target price 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. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Trading Down 0.3 %

SON traded down $0.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $44.00. The stock had a trading volume of 591,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 741,819. Sonoco Products has a 1-year low of $39.46 and a 1-year high of $61.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $46.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.05.

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

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.73%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Sonoco Products's payout ratio 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.