Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Acquired by Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.

Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. grew its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 53.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,272,121 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 442,892 shares during the period. Sonoco Products comprises about 1.2% of Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc.’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $62,143,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Private Management Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 584,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,547,000 after buying an additional 126,867 shares during the period. Quilter Plc grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 8,895 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $3,610,000 after acquiring an additional 5,505 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter valued at $15,533,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Sonoco Products by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 528,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,817,000 after purchasing an additional 20,075 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SON opened at $44.20 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $45.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $48.03. Sonoco Products has a 52 week low of $39.46 and a 52 week high of $61.73. The stock has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.68.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.03). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This is an increase from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.80%. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is 137.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SON has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Sonoco Products in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sonoco Products presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.43.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In other news, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,772.08. The trade was a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $41.17 per share, with a total value of $823,400.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 502,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,682,367.05. The trade was a 4.15 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders acquired 50,721 shares of company stock worth $2,206,646. Insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

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.