Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Decreases Stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lessened its position in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 5.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 85,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.09% of Sonoco Products worth $4,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Private Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 584,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,547,000 after purchasing an additional 126,867 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 299,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,615,000 after buying an additional 8,895 shares in the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 66,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,610,000 after buying an additional 5,505 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 579.8% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 144,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,073,000 after acquiring an additional 123,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Sonoco Products by 312.1% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 185,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,126,000 after acquiring an additional 140,370 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on 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 on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of SON opened at $47.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 1.91. Sonoco Products has a 1-year low of $44.36 and a 1-year high of $61.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $47.31 and a 200 day moving average of $50.43.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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. On average, research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.39%. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is currently 126.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sonoco Products news, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. This trade represents a 4.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John R. Haley acquired 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.