Access Investment Management LLC Purchases 4,150 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Access Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 187,770 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,150 shares during the period. Sonoco Products comprises 2.7% of Access Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Access Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.19% of Sonoco Products worth $9,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 6.4% in the 4th 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 grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 13.9% in the 3rd 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 grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 2.2% in the 4th 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 grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 2.4% in the 3rd 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. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sonoco Products

In related news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total transaction of $191,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,316.75. This represents a 19.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

NYSE SON opened at $46.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $48.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $51.03. Sonoco Products has a 52-week low of $44.35 and a 52-week high of $61.73. The company has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a PE ratio of 28.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.67.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Sell-side analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.44%. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is 126.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SON has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America upped their target price 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. Citigroup dropped 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 note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.83.

About Sonoco Products

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.