Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Acquired by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 15.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 147,436 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,590 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.15% of Sonoco Products worth $7,382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,128,725 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $543,638,000 after buying an additional 120,843 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,863,756 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $101,842,000 after purchasing an additional 42,701 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 1,345,054 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $65,706,000 after buying an additional 43,238 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings 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 valued at $55,181,000 after acquiring an additional 437,128 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,107,635 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $54,108,000 after acquiring an additional 9,899 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $46.10 per share, for a total transaction of $922,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. This represents a 4.33 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly 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. Insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 3.0 %

SON stock traded down $1.43 during trading on Thursday, reaching $46.46. 134,136 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 719,719. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $49.88. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $44.36 and a 12 month high of $61.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio is presently 126.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on SON. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $58.50.

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.