Brown Advisory Inc. Sells 611 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Brown Advisory Inc. trimmed its holdings in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,017,763 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 611 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. owned 1.04% of Sonoco Products worth $49,718,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of SON. Arizona State Retirement System grew its position in Sonoco Products by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 28,516 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 224 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Sonoco Products by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 7,073 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in Sonoco Products by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 6,652 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 247 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 43,056 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,103,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,701 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $230,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. purchased 5,475 shares of Sonoco Products stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $40.34 per share, for a total transaction of $220,861.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,191,643.60. This trade represents a 22.75 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John R. Haley acquired 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 50,721 shares of company stock valued at $2,206,646. 0.74% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on SON. Raymond James reduced their target price on Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Bank of America lifted their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Sonoco Products from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.43.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:SON opened at $44.93 on Tuesday. 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 $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.68. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $39.46 and a 12 month high of $61.73. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $45.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.08.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 20.81% and a net margin of 2.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This is an increase from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.72%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is presently 137.66%.

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.