RBF Capital LLC Grows Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

RBF Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 577.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 65,002 shares of the industrial products company's stock after acquiring an additional 55,402 shares during the quarter. RBF Capital LLC owned 0.07% of Sonoco Products worth $3,175,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Sonoco Products by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 60,189 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $2,941,000 after purchasing an additional 4,978 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $416,000. Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter worth $328,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 119.3% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 11,373 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $556,000 after purchasing an additional 6,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 307,680 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $15,030,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Sonoco Products news, CEO R. Howard Coker acquired 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. This represents a 4.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sonoco Products in a research report on Tuesday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $62.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $56.43.

Sonoco Products Trading Up 3.6 %

NYSE:SON opened at $45.01 on Wednesday. Sonoco Products has a 1 year low of $39.46 and a 1 year high of $61.73. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $45.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.66. 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 company has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. As a group, analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is 128.48%.

Sonoco Products 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SON? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.