Swiss National Bank Increases Stock Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 193,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $9,443,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 17,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 1,979 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,447,000. Amundi lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 154.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 182,330 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $8,619,000 after buying an additional 110,810 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 422.2% during the fourth quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 153,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,491,000 after buying an additional 123,983 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,012,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the purchase, 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John R. Haley purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SON has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. Bank of America upped their price target 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. Finally, Truist Financial cut 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

NYSE:SON opened at $46.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The company has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $44.36 and a fifty-two week high of $61.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $47.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.33.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its 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). Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 126.06%.

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.