Voya Investment Management LLC Acquires 127,184 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Voya Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 198.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 191,427 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 127,184 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC owned 0.19% of Sonoco Products worth $9,351,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SON. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 35.0% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Sonoco Products in the third quarter worth about $71,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Sonoco Products in the fourth quarter worth about $84,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 311.8% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 33.8% in the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Sonoco Products from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.43.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In related 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 cost of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker acquired 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now 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. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

NYSE SON opened at $46.48 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $45.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.42. 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 has a 12-month low of $39.46 and a 12-month high of $61.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is an increase from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is presently 128.48%.

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.