Merit Financial Group LLC Takes Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 6,105 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $298,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 110,342 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,597,000 after acquiring an additional 4,079 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.7% during the second quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 8,862 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $445,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 17.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 7,453 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 1,088 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the second quarter worth $1,491,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products in the second quarter valued at $164,000. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on SON. Bank of America upped their price target on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has 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, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $60.17.

Insider Activity at Sonoco Products

In related news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total value of $191,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,065 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $770,316.75. This trade represents a 19.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 0.4 %

SON traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $48.44. The company had a trading volume of 513,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 602,184. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $49.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $51.57. Sonoco Products has a 52 week low of $45.93 and a 52 week high of $61.73. The company has a market capitalization of $4.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.65, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 4.38%. The firm's revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 5.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.