Brandes Investment Partners LP Boosts Stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Brandes Investment Partners LP raised its position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 55.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,579 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,259 shares during the quarter. 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 and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter worth about $71,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter worth about $84,000. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 311.8% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 1,297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter worth about $111,000. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,316.75. This trade represents a 19.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,772.08. The trade was a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of SON opened at $45.66 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.58. The company has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $44.35 and a twelve month high of $61.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). 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%. As a group, analysts predict 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 issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.56%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 126.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SON shares. Citigroup dropped 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. Truist Financial dropped 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 note on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One research 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.50.

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.