Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) Shares Purchased by Abacus Planning Group Inc.

Abacus Planning Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 60.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,494 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the period. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Management Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 584,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $28,547,000 after purchasing an additional 126,867 shares during the last quarter. Quilter Plc raised its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 299,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $14,615,000 after purchasing an additional 8,895 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 9.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 312.1% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 185,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,126,000 after acquiring an additional 140,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 63.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 437,128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

Sonoco Products stock opened at $46.44 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $48.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.08. Sonoco Products has a 1-year low of $44.35 and a 1-year high of $61.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 2.36 and a quick ratio of 1.91. The stock has a market cap of $4.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 0.67.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.01). Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.46%. The firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. On average, analysts expect that Sonoco Products will post 6.25 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 26th will be given a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 26th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.48%. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is currently 126.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SON has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $58.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $63.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $60.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total transaction of $191,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,316.75. This trade represents a 19.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Sonoco Products

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.