Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC Buys Shares of 23,200 Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 23,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,133,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Private Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 584,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,547,000 after purchasing an additional 126,867 shares during the period. Quilter Plc raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 299,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,615,000 after buying an additional 8,895 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 9.0% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 579.8% in the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 144,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $7,073,000 after buying an additional 123,500 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 312.1% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 185,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $10,126,000 after buying an additional 140,370 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $46.10 per share, for a total transaction of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,237,026.50. This represents a 4.33 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John R. Haley acquired 3,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $867,772.08. The trade was a 19.28 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SON has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonoco Products presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 5.5 %

SON opened at $42.84 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $46.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $49.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.96, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64. Sonoco Products has a one year low of $39.46 and a one year high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. Analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.86%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.