Bailard Inc. Invests $467,000 in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Bailard Inc. acquired a new position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,565 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $467,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SON. Private Management Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $28,547,000 after acquiring an additional 126,867 shares in the last quarter. Quilter Plc raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 299,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,615,000 after purchasing an additional 8,895 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Sonoco Products by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC now owns 66,754 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,610,000 after purchasing an additional 5,505 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV grew its position in Sonoco Products by 579.8% during the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 144,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,073,000 after purchasing an additional 123,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 312.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 185,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,126,000 after purchasing an additional 140,370 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, Director John R. Haley purchased 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total value of $191,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SON shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of SON stock opened at $46.33 on Wednesday. Sonoco Products has a 52-week low of $44.35 and a 52-week high of $61.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The stock has a market cap of $4.55 billion, a PE ratio of 28.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.91.

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). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. On average, equities analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

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 issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 126.06%.

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.