Northern Trust Corp Purchases 166,552 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 24.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 859,810 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 166,552 shares during the quarter. Northern Trust Corp owned 0.88% of Sonoco Products worth $42,002,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP increased its position in Sonoco Products by 111.3% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 35.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the 3rd quarter valued at about $71,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of Sonoco Products in the 4th quarter valued at about $84,000. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Sonoco Products by 311.8% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,713 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 1,297 shares in the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SON has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Sonoco Products in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Sonoco Products Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE:SON opened at $45.15 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.68. Sonoco Products has a twelve month low of $39.46 and a twelve month high of $61.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $47.98.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.02 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.12 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.70%. This is a boost from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is 137.66%.

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.