Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Sold by Viawealth LLC

Viawealth LLC cut its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,255 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 571 shares during the period. Viawealth LLC’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $354,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,863,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,842,000 after purchasing an additional 42,701 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 63.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,129,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,181,000 after purchasing an additional 437,128 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,107,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,108,000 after purchasing an additional 9,899 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,044,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,030,000 after purchasing an additional 15,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 584,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,547,000 after purchasing an additional 126,867 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on SON shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of SON opened at $48.45 on Thursday. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.37, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $44.36 and a twelve month high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced 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). 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 analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Equities analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.29%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.06%.

Insider Activity

In other Sonoco Products news, CEO R. Howard Coker acquired 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. This trade represents a 4.33 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their position. 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.