ING Groep NV Raises Stock Position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

ING Groep NV increased its stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 579.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 144,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 123,500 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $7,073,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SON. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Sonoco Products in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter worth $71,000. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the 4th quarter worth $84,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

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 shares were sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total value of $191,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,065 shares in the company, valued at $770,316.75. The trade was a 19.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SON opened at $46.88 on Friday. 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 $4.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $48.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.02. Sonoco Products has a 52-week low of $44.35 and a 52-week high of $61.73.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.44%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 126.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on SON shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America raised 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.83.

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.