Quantbot Technologies LP Buys 9,339 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 460.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 11,366 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,339 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of SON. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 50.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,029,166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,223,000 after purchasing an additional 344,658 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 24,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,313,000 after buying an additional 3,547 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the third quarter valued at $365,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 70.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 559,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,571,000 after acquiring an additional 230,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 63.7% in the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 39,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,146,000 after acquiring an additional 15,281 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SON has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised their target price 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. Truist Financial reduced 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 note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup dropped their target price on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com raised Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of SON opened at $46.89 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a PE ratio of 28.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $44.36 and a 12 month high of $61.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $50.10.

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

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.44%. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is currently 126.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John R. Haley purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was bought at an average price of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at $867,772.08. The trade was a 19.28 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker acquired 20,000 shares of Sonoco Products 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 completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. The trade was a 4.33 % 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 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.