Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Stock Position Raised by Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc.

Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 307,680 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares during the period. Sonoco Products makes up about 3.0% of Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. owned 0.31% of Sonoco Products worth $15,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 94,885 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,184,000 after buying an additional 21,799 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 23.6% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 17,482 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $890,000 after acquiring an additional 3,341 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the third quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in Sonoco Products by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 25,941 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,417,000 after purchasing an additional 6,869 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 110.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 73,501 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,018,000 after purchasing an additional 38,564 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SON has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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 report on Monday, February 24th. Bank of America boosted their price objective 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonoco Products presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SON opened at $43.85 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.79. Sonoco Products has a 52 week low of $39.46 and a 52 week high of $61.73. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.64.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.83%. This is a positive change from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 128.48%.

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.