First Trust Advisors LP Boosts Stock Holdings in Sonoco Products Company $SON

First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Sonoco Products Company (NYSE:SON) by 12.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,384,361 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after acquiring an additional 156,793 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $59,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SON. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sonoco Products during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Sonoco Products in the second quarter worth about $30,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Sonoco Products by 172.5% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 744 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Sonoco Products by 258.7% during the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 1,338 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 965 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sonoco Products by 315.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,587 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 1,205 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Sonoco Products in a research note on Friday. Bank of America upgraded shares of Sonoco Products from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $56.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $69.00 price objective (up from $54.00) on shares of Sonoco Products in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $52.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.63.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In other news, insider Ernest D. Haynes III sold 1,581 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.39, for a total value of $89,152.59. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $528,769.03. This trade represents a 14.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Sonoco Products Price Performance

NYSE:SON opened at $53.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.29, a PEG ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $50.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.58. Sonoco Products Company has a 1 year low of $38.65 and a 1 year high of $58.44.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The industrial products company reported $1.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.76 billion. Sonoco Products had a return on equity of 18.52% and a net margin of 13.34%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 29.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Sonoco Products Company will post 6.1 EPS for the current year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. Sonoco Products’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.05%.

Sonoco Products Company Profile

Sonoco Products Company (NYSE: SON) is a global provider of diversified packaging solutions, serving a wide range of consumer, industrial and retail markets. The company offers a broad portfolio that includes rigid paper and plastic containers, flexible packaging, industrial core and tube products, thermoformed plastics, retail point-of-purchase displays, and packaging supply chain services. Through its solutions, Sonoco helps customers in food and beverage, personal care, chemicals, healthcare, home and garden, and electronics industries address their packaging needs, improve product shelf appeal, and optimize logistics efficiency.

With operations in more than 30 countries across North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, Sonoco leverages a global network of manufacturing facilities, recycling centers and distribution channels to meet the demands of multinational and regional customers.