Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Purchased by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 96,323 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,287 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. owned approximately 0.10% of Sonoco Products worth $4,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SON. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 437,128 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 33.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,158 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co of the South lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 16,248 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $794,000 after buying an additional 1,658 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 110.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 73,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,018,000 after buying an additional 38,564 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 25,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after buying an additional 6,869 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

SON traded up $0.64 on Monday, reaching $46.57. The company 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 stock 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. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $50.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.71.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for 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%. Sonoco Products’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $770,316.75. This represents a 19.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SON has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.