Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases New Shares in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 123,074 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,012,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Sonoco Products by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 46,662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,280,000 after purchasing an additional 1,963 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 29,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,463,000 after purchasing an additional 1,529 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,044,620 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,030,000 after purchasing an additional 15,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 311.8% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,297 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In other Sonoco Products news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total value of $191,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,316.75. This trade represents a 19.94 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director John R. Haley purchased 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SON has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America increased 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. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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 upgraded Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonoco Products has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Stock Performance

NYSE SON opened at $46.84 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $47.37 and its 200-day moving average is $50.20. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. Sonoco Products has a 12-month low of $44.36 and a 12-month high of $61.73. 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 (NYSE:SON) last issued its 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). Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The business had revenue of $1.36 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

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

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.