Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $28.88 Million Stake in Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 591,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 63,734 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Sonoco Products were worth $28,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SON. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Sonoco Products by 50.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,029,166 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $56,223,000 after buying an additional 344,658 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sonoco Products by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 24,042 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,313,000 after purchasing an additional 3,547 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Sonoco Products by 70.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 559,596 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,571,000 after purchasing an additional 230,709 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Sonoco Products in the third quarter valued at about $111,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its position in Sonoco Products by 63.7% during the third quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 39,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,146,000 after purchasing an additional 15,281 shares during the period. 77.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sonoco Products

In related news, Director John R. Haley bought 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $46.76 per share, with a total value of $140,280.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 18,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $867,772.08. This represents a 19.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert R. Hill, Jr. sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.95, for a total value of $191,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,065 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $770,316.75. The trade was a 19.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on SON shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Sonoco Products from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Sonoco Products from $68.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Bank of America upped their target price on Sonoco Products from $66.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Sonoco Products from $59.00 to $55.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.50.

Sonoco Products Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of SON opened at $46.70 on Monday. 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 has a 52 week low of $44.36 and a 52 week high of $61.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.30, a PEG ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.32 and a 200-day moving average of $49.99.

Sonoco Products (NYSE:SON) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $1.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Sonoco Products had a net margin of 2.60% and a return on equity of 20.81%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sonoco Products will post 6.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonoco Products Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 26th. Sonoco Products’s payout ratio is 126.06%.

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.