Legal & General Group Plc decreased its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 181,309 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 7,260 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.18% of Sonoco Products worth $8,857,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Management Group Inc. lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 584,390 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $28,547,000 after buying an additional 126,867 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 299,178 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $14,615,000 after purchasing an additional 8,895 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 valued at $3,610,000 after purchasing an additional 5,505 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter worth about $15,533,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 528,494 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $25,817,000 after purchasing an additional 20,075 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
SON has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James cut their target price on Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price objective on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.43.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Sonoco Products
Sonoco Products Stock Up 2.1 %
SON traded up $0.94 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $45.95. The company had a trading volume of 72,495 shares, compared to its average volume of 745,262. The company has a market capitalization of $4.53 billion, a PE ratio of 27.85, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Sonoco Products has a one year low of $39.46 and a one year high of $61.73. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $45.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.66.
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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.01). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.
Sonoco Products Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.61%. This is an increase from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 128.48%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CEO R. Howard Coker acquired 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. This trade represents a 4.33 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 purchased at an average cost of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $867,772.08. This represents 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.
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.
See Also

Before you consider Sonoco Products, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Sonoco Products wasn't on the list.
While Sonoco Products currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Thinking about investing in Meta, Roblox, or Unity? Enter your email to learn what streetwise investors need to know about the metaverse and public markets before making an investment.
Get This Free Report