Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC Takes $328,000 Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Steel Grove Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,712 shares of the industrial products company's stock, valued at approximately $328,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the third quarter valued at about $71,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 311.8% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,713 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297 shares during the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Sonoco Products by 33.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,158 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SON has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sonoco Products in a research note on Tuesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Sonoco Products from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Raymond James dropped their target price on Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Sonoco Products currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $56.43.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

NYSE SON opened at $45.01 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a PE ratio of 27.28, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $39.46 and a twelve month high of $61.73. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $48.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. Equities analysts anticipate 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 issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products's dividend payout ratio is 128.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In other news, Director John R. Haley purchased 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,772.08. This represents a 19.28 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $46.10 per share, for a total transaction of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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