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

Locust Wood Capital Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 23,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,133,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter valued at about $60,984,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 63.2% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,129,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,181,000 after acquiring an additional 437,128 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,533,000. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter worth about $11,672,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter worth about $7,811,000. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John R. Haley acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $46.10 per share, with a total value of $922,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,237,026.50. The trade was a 4.33 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.74% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 5.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SON opened at $42.84 on Thursday. The stock 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. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $39.46 and a 12-month high of $61.73. The business’s 50 day moving average is $46.47 and its 200 day moving average is $49.31.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by ($0.01). Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.86%. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is 126.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SON shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Company 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.