Brandes Investment Partners LP Increases Stock Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 55.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,579 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 6,259 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 193,300 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,443,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 17,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $834,000 after buying an additional 1,979 shares during the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter valued at $2,447,000. Amundi raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 154.9% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 422.2% during the 4th 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 last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sonoco Products Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of Sonoco Products stock opened at $45.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. Sonoco Products has a fifty-two week low of $44.35 and a fifty-two week high of $61.73. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $47.31 and a 200 day moving average of $50.58.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is currently 126.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total transaction of $191,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,316.75. This represents a 19.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SON shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Monday, February 24th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.50.

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.