Jump Financial LLC Invests $451,000 in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 9,230 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $451,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SON. Cooper Creek Partners Management LLC purchased a new position in Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter valued at about $78,203,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,984,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake 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 valued at $55,181,000 after acquiring an additional 437,128 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter worth $15,533,000. Finally, Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter worth $11,672,000. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SON. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com cut shares of Sonoco Products from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five 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 a consensus price target of $56.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO R. Howard Coker acquired 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. This trade represents a 4.33 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at $867,772.08. The trade was 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

NYSE:SON traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $47.02. The company had a trading volume of 442,552 shares, compared to its average volume of 749,774. The firm has a market cap of $4.64 billion, a PE ratio of 28.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64. Sonoco Products has a 1-year low of $39.46 and a 1-year high of $61.73. The business's 50 day moving average price is $45.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $48.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 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. Research analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.51%. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 128.48%.

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.