Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC Buys New Shares in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Tounjian Advisory Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 19,588 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $925,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in SON. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in Sonoco Products by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 16,970 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $829,000 after purchasing an additional 4,860 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $911,000. Quilter Plc raised its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Quilter Plc now owns 299,178 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $14,615,000 after acquiring an additional 8,895 shares during the period. Regents Gate Capital LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,083,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in shares of Sonoco Products by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 282,587 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,804,000 after purchasing an additional 3,680 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on SON. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $48.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Sonoco Products from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.25.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

NYSE:SON opened at $45.51 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $44.65 and a 200-day moving average of $47.05. The company has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.58, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.70. Sonoco Products has a 52 week low of $39.46 and a 52 week high of $59.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for 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%. Sonoco Products’s revenue was up 30.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.66%. This is a boost from Sonoco Products’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 137.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO R. Howard Coker bought 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $46.10 per share, for a total transaction of $922,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 482,365 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,237,026.50. This trade represents a 4.33% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. bought 5,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $40.34 per share, with a total value of $220,861.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,540 shares in the company, 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 bought 47,721 shares of company stock worth $2,066,366 in the last quarter. 0.74% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.