Edgestream Partners L.P. Purchases 123,983 Shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 422.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 153,350 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after buying an additional 123,983 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $7,491,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SON. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Sonoco Products by 2.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,863,756 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $101,842,000 after buying an additional 42,701 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 63.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,129,133 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $55,181,000 after purchasing an additional 437,128 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Sonoco Products by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,107,635 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $54,108,000 after buying an additional 9,899 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 15,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Management Group Inc. raised its stake in Sonoco Products by 27.7% in the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 584,390 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $28,547,000 after buying an additional 126,867 shares during the last quarter. 77.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Sonoco Products

In other news, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $46.76 per share, for a total transaction of $140,280.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,772.08. This trade represents a 19.28 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total transaction of $191,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $770,316.75. This represents a 19.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Sonoco Products Stock Up 1.6 %

SON stock opened at $46.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.44, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $50.87. Sonoco Products has a 12 month low of $44.35 and a 12 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.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The industrial products company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.18 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. As a group, analysts forecast that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.43%. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is 126.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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 report on Wednesday. Citigroup reduced their target price on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sonoco Products currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.50.

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.