Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Stock Position Trimmed by Valley Wealth Managers Inc.

Valley Wealth Managers Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON - Free Report) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 62,285 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 10,841 shares during the period. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. owned about 0.06% of Sonoco Products worth $3,043,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wedmont Private Capital increased its position in Sonoco Products by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,652 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,701 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $230,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 13.9% in the third quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 2,373 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $130,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 14,084 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $688,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Curi RMB Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.4% in the third quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 12,979 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $709,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SON shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sonoco Products currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $58.83.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In other 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 directly owns 16,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,316.75. This trade represents a 19.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE SON traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $46.88. 974,004 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 777,641. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $44.35 and a 12 month high of $61.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 28.41, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average of $48.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $51.02.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.01). Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The company 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.44%. Sonoco Products's payout ratio is currently 126.06%.

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.