Financial Counselors Inc. Sells 3,190 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Financial Counselors Inc. decreased its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 227,015 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,190 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. owned 0.23% of Sonoco Products worth $11,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 63.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,129,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $55,181,000 after buying an additional 437,128 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 50.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,029,166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $56,223,000 after purchasing an additional 344,658 shares in the last quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter valued at $11,672,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Sonoco Products by 70.1% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 559,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,571,000 after purchasing an additional 230,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in Sonoco Products by 1,736.5% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 148,940 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $8,137,000 after purchasing an additional 140,830 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Sonoco Products Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of SON stock opened at $47.15 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $4.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $47.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.12. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $44.36 and a 12-month high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its 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). 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 the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Equities analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th were given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is presently 126.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was 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 owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,316.75. The trade was a 19.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO R. Howard Coker purchased 20,000 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average price of $46.10 per share, for a total transaction of $922,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 482,365 shares in the company, valued at $22,237,026.50. The trade was a 4.33 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.