Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Increases Stock Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. raised its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 96,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,287 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $4,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.0% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 15,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $771,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the second quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 41.3% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,437,000 after buying an additional 8,284 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.8% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 110,342 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,597,000 after buying an additional 4,079 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 1.9% during the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 228,976 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $11,614,000 after buying an additional 4,210 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 16,065 shares in the company, valued at $770,316.75. This represents a 19.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Sonoco Products stock traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $46.57. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 292,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 721,551. Sonoco Products has a 1-year low of $45.93 and a 1-year high of $61.73. The business has a fifty day moving average of $50.15 and a 200 day moving average of $51.71. The company has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 2.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 4.38% and a return on equity of 19.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is 71.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on SON shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target 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. Bank of America increased their price target 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 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 research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $60.17.

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.