Stephens Inc. AR Trims Stock Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Stephens Inc. AR cut its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,532 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 646 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SON. Private Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 584,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,547,000 after buying an additional 126,867 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 66,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,610,000 after acquiring an additional 5,505 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 312.1% during the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 185,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,126,000 after acquiring an additional 140,370 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Sonoco Products by 63.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,129,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,181,000 after purchasing an additional 437,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Sonoco Products in the 3rd quarter valued at about $970,000. 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total value of $191,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,065 shares in the company, valued at approximately $770,316.75. The trade was a 19.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on SON. 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. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Sonoco Products from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $60.17.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE SON opened at $48.25 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 2.36, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $45.93 and a 12-month high of $61.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $48.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.23.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.31%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.48%.

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.