Verition Fund Management LLC Purchases 140,830 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 1,736.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 148,940 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 140,830 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $8,137,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SON. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 80.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 555,575 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,179,000 after buying an additional 248,236 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc acquired a new position in Sonoco Products in the first quarter valued at about $1,626,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in Sonoco Products in the second quarter valued at about $2,419,000. Oak Thistle LLC raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 368.2% during the second quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 20,321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 15,981 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter valued at about $970,000. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on SON. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Sonoco Products from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $54.00 to $52.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $63.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Sonoco Products from $62.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $59.00.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of SON stock opened at $51.88 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $52.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.65. 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 1 year low of $48.22 and a 1 year high of $61.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.83, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.69.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.72 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 4.38%. Sonoco Products’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 5.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio 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.