IFP Advisors Inc Increases Stock Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 243 shares during the quarter. IFP Advisors Inc’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SON. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 35.0% during 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 during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter worth approximately $84,000. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SON. Citigroup decreased their target price 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. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Sonoco Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of Sonoco Products stock opened at $47.82 on Friday. Sonoco Products has a 52-week low of $44.35 and a 52-week high of $61.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a fifty day moving average of $47.81 and a 200-day moving average of $50.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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). Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John R. Haley purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $867,772.08. This represents a 19.28 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the director now directly owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,316.75. The trade was a 19.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.